It's been a dizzying few years of revisions at the state level to housing laws authored by the General Assembly and needing to be implemented at the municipal level.

With that in mind, the town council and the planning board are conducting a special joint session on Tuesday, Sept. 29, in the town hall chamber to address the topic of updating Warren's package of zoning ordinances. The meeting is set to start at 7 p.m.

The council and the board, to different extents, discussed the matter at their August meetings. Planning and Economic Development Director Bianca Policastro reviewed the situation with the board in some detail at its forum. Both she and Planning Board Chairman Blake Costa also briefly addressed the council at its session, when the joint gathering was proposed and approved.

At the council meeting, Town Manager Brian Sullivan noted Warren received a handful of grants from Rhode Island Housing late in 2025, one of which was earmarked to support the necessary revisions to Chapter 32 of its zoning ordinances. The firm Weston & Sampson, oft a collaborator with the town on like matters, was hired to consult with all of the relevant parties locally.

"So, because it is such a time consuming process, it needs to have its own special meaning," Sullivan explained to the council. "So that we can focus just on the language changes in the zoning ordinances."

While commending the efforts of Policastro, who was only hired into her role this past spring, for taking on the matter almost immediately, Costa told the council the same August, "This is a big lift. We are not looking to make any material changes to the zoning ordinance. We need to bring it into compliance with general law, give us a new baseline that we can build off of to finally implement our comprehensive plan."

Titled "Resilient Warren: A comprehensive community play for adoption," Costa referenced Warren's revised comprehensive plan worked on for several years before the board approved the draft document in the fall of 2024, later backed by the council shortly thereafter then formally accepted by the Rhode Island Division of Statewide Planning in 2025.

Costa noted the town cannot implement those changes expressed in the comprehensive plan without making the corresponding ordinance amendments associated with the new state laws. The chairman said what comes out of the joint session would allow all of the municipalities entities as well as applicants access to "a resource that's accurate and legal."

Costa added, "I just want to make you guys all aware that this isn't material changes we're making at this time. I think there's going to be a phase two, and the comprehensive plan gets implemented. I think it's important to do this in a timely manner as we're constantly seeing major developments come in front of our board. Unfortunately, we have to rely on outdated ordinances."

Policastro highlighted for the council the statistic that some 50 new laws pertaining to housing have been added or amended on the state books over the last four years, likely requiring upwards of "approximately 140 to 150 pages of changes" to the town's ordinances.

She continued, "Like, Mr. Costa said, this is just to bring us up to create a baseline of compliance. We will still be doing a phase two and a phase three, digging into deeper ordinances."

Policastro said, as well, she intends to provide residents with the appropriate materials as they become ready for public consumption.

"We're also going to be updating some resources on the planning department page. There's a lot of confusion around what adaptive reuse means and what comprehensive permit means versus comprehensive plan," she added. "And there are some technical assistance documents that I'm trying to make them more user friendly."

After the meetings, Costa reiterated the necessity of the effort, emphasizing the significance of getting on the same page with state mandates so as to give the town and future applicants a proper set of guidelines to follow.

"This update is deliberately narrow. No material policy changes. Just a high-quality, state-compliant ordinance that gives Warren a solid foundation to finally implement its Comprehensive Plan," Costa said.

Of the need to expedite the matter, Costa added, "It brings Warren's zoning ordinance into alignment with Rhode Island General Law and modern planning practice. It's not about changing what Warren allows. It's about fixing a document that's grown inconsistent over the years, so residents, applicants and the board are all working from clear, predictable rules.

"Just as importantly, it lays the groundwork for the next phase: bringing our state-approved comprehensive plan to life through the ordinance amendments planned for 2027."