Smiley Vetoes Council’s Housing Ordinance - Council President Charges Mayor Serving Developers
Saturday, April 27, 2024
City Council President Rachel Miller and Providence Mayor Brett Smiley PHOTOS: City of Providence and Smiley campaign
Smiley, in his veto message, claimed the council’s actions were an overstep and will make the city's housing crisis worse. His action comes just two weeks after he held a major political fundraiser with developers at Capriccio restaurant.
The ordinance passed the city council 13-2 last week for a second time.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTCity Council President Rachel Miller blasted Smiley for his veto.
“We have a housing crisis in our city, with outrageous rents Providence residents can’t afford. The Council acted on an ordinance that protects affordability by defining ‘low-income’ housing and clarifying how tax incentives will be applied," said Miller. "The law considers rental units ‘low-income’ when restricted to tenants earning 80% or less of the area median income (AMI), and the rent is limited to 30% of their income. 8 Law is intended to benefit low-income residents, and this new ordinance ensures that is how it’s applied.”
Miller Claims Smiley Is Serving Developers
“With the city's help, wealthy developers have abused this tax treatment, applying it to entire buildings with only a few income-restricted units or even commercial spaces in mixed-use buildings," said Miller. "This takes millions of taxpayer dollars intended to benefit low-income residents and hands them to ultrawealthy developers who are not building affordable units. The new ordinance specifies that only low-income units are eligible for the 8% tax treatment and offers stronger reporting requirements to prevent future abuse of the law."
“It is disappointing that the mayor would veto a tool that addresses low-income housing in the capital city. We are confident that we have the necessary votes to override the veto at our meeting next week, a testament to the Council’s unwavering dedication to our most vulnerable residents,” said Miller.
Smiley Fires Back
Smiley in his veto message took a swipe at the City Council.
The Mayor claims the ordinance’s legality is in question.
“There have been representations made by several Councilors, and their staff, that it is the Council's intention to require my Administration to apply this new ordinance retroactively or to recently submitted applications. While it's not clear to me that this intention is even legal to implement, it is also concerning that the attempt to do so might put many buildings in our city in default, putting housing at risk for many Providence residents. The City could risk lawsuit if this is applied retroactively,” said Smiley in his veto message.
He added as a last line, "This legislation creates more problems than it solves, will harm our city and I respectfully veto this ordinance."
The city council needs ten votes to override Smiley’s veto.
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