Senate approves oversight of EDC developments

PROVIDENCE – A bill that cleared the R.I. Senate this month calls for state “authority and oversight” on any development being undertaken by the R.I. Economic Development Corporation.
The oversight would include EDC’s subsidiaries, including the Quonset Development Corporation. The bill, S 0292Aaa, had been referred to the House Corporations Committee for review last week.
According to the bill’s sponsor, Sen. James C. Sheehan, a Democrat representing Narragansett and North Kingstown, the bill stems from the disagreements between North Kingstown and QDC over the Quonset Gateway development, which is now underway.
“Rather than repeats of the prolonged rancor that followed the early Gateway proposal, with its big-box stores that did not conform to the town’s plans, this legislation will require that a community’s concerns will be given full consideration before any shovel hits the ground,” Sheehan said in a statement issued by his office.