After nearly three full hours of testimony, the Providence City Council Ordinance Committee rejected a zoning request for a proposed 46-story building near downtown. The committee denied a request from The Fane Organization, a New York-based developer, to change the area’s zoning from 100 feet to 600 feet.
Dozens of people testified for and against the project during the public hearing Wednesday night before the vote. Members of the construction and building trades union packed city hall early in the night, voicing support for the hundreds of jobs the project could generate.
Providence resident, Sharon Steele, who heads the Jewelry District Neighborhood Association has been an opponent of the tower since it was first proposed, more than a year ago.
“I am gratified for all the people in the community who took the time to come out and stay here for hours and testify passionately about how this is not the right building for that location,” Steele said.
She applauded the committee’s decision.
“This is about zoning. It’s about the comprehensive plan. It isn’t about anything else,” Steele said. “It isn’t about trying to entice them to build something else. So if he’s so interested in Providence, then he will choose to build on another parcel.”
Neither project developer, Jason Fane, nor a representative spoke in defense of the zoning request at the public hearing.
