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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Committee of Public Works Public Hearing on Street Abandonments - December 1, 2025

City Council — Monday, December 1, 2025

BodyProvidence, Rhode Island

SessionCity Council

DateMonday, December 1, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 29:59

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:32

We good.

0:34

All right.

0:34

Good evening, everyone.

0:36

Thank you for taking your time to be here today at City Hall and do the people's business.

0:46

Welcome to the committee of public works.

0:49

This is a public hearing today.

0:51

We're going to listen to everyone who's here today.

0:55

Today is Monday, December 1st, 2025, and it's 5.33 o'clock p.m.

1:04

Um.

1:05

I want to say welcome to my colleagues, Consulman Miguel Sanchez, Consulman Pedro Spinal, Consulman Um Jostin Royers, Consulwoman Tia Grave, and to the solicitor, the barman.

1:21

They better give you a name next time.

1:24

And to Babazar.

1:26

But especially to the to the people who comes in here and testify.

1:37

Can you read item one, please?

1:39

Sorry.

1:40

Patricia Mdeya M.

1:41

Vega and Christopher J.

1:42

Armstrong of 70 Brightwood Avenue and Joanne S.

1:47

Kasha.

1:48

I can't pronounce the thank you.

1:51

Of 45 Audubon Avenue, Annabelle E.

1:54

Sorrow and Matthew A.

1:55

37 Audubon Avenue requesting to abandon Falmouth Street.

2:02

See the side, can you please bring me the list?

2:07

First one.

2:08

The first one.

2:09

Thank you.

2:16

Thank you.

2:17

Yeah.

2:20

Okay.

2:21

I will have uh Bob Aesar to talk about these item number one for now.

2:28

Thank you.

2:30

Welcome.

2:32

Good evening, Mr.

2:33

Chair, members of the committee.

2:35

I'm Robert Azar.

2:36

I'm the deputy director of the Department of Planning and Development.

2:42

All street abandonment requests get reviewed by the City Plan Commission.

2:46

This one, the abandonment of Falmouth Street, came uh to the City Plan Commission uh a few months ago, and um the commission made certain findings uh that are outlined in a letter that was forwarded to you.

3:01

Uh this is a what we call a paper street.

3:04

It's undeveloped, it shows up on the map, but on the ground it's uh it's um it's not paved, it's wooded, um, and it is not uh providing um access to um for the public to any property.

3:23

It appears only to be useful to uh the property that it abuts.

3:29

Uh and in these circumstances, um our policies indicate that this would be a good candidate for abandonment.

3:38

These um the the street would be um made private property, it would be subdivided and the uh land would be divided up among the uh abutting property owners.

3:53

So the city plan commission uh recommends that the council approve this petition subject to several conditions.

4:03

One that the abutters come to an agreement on a plan for abandonment and subdivision prior to uh appearing before the city council, and this has to be depicted on a survey.

4:16

Um, the petitioner shall apply for an administrative subdivision to merge the abandoned street with their respective properties.

4:24

Uh three, the abandonment shall only apply to the portion of the street within Providence, and uh obviously since you don't have jurisdiction there, uh, shall not apply to North Providence.

4:35

There is a tiny corner of this uh street within this block that is is in the town of North Providence, and then finally that the petitioners shall grant any necessary easements for access to property, utility access, and maintenance.

4:54

Okay, thank you very much.

5:00

Now we have somebody from who representing these property.

5:18

Some pictorial uh identifications to the that show the wooded nature, the substantially wooded nature of the of the property is a little bit that's asphalted here, so you can see that it's really not been in uh we've been working with Bob Azar of the City, and uh you know our our you know our agreement or our position is is this is exactly what he's saying.

5:47

Uh the only practical use probably in this case would be the abandonment.

5:52

Um the abutters, all the abutters are in agreement uh with this.

5:56

Um and I, you know, the next steps I guess would be ascribing a value to it, and uh you know, delineating uh specifically where the elements would go to each of them, but they're essentially going to be the parts next to the the property are gonna be belong to the people who are right next to them.

6:13

Um there's already utilities in place on that property, so all of those utilities and all the access points for the utility would stay.

6:26

There's nothing that's um there's no intent to create any uh hardscape or asphalting or anything like that.

6:33

They want to leave it uh so that uh it's permeable for water.

6:41

Any questions from the colleagues?

6:45

Uh yes.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Public Property Management█████████████████████████████████████████████72%

Transportation Safety████████12%

Community Engagement████7%

Public Works Management███5%

Procedural███4%

Summary of Proceedings

Committee of Public Works Public Hearing on Street Abandonments - December 1, 2025

The Committee of Public Works held a public hearing on Monday, December 1, 2025, at 5:33 PM at City Hall. The meeting addressed three petitions for street abandonment: Falmouth Street (paper street), a portion of Steele Street (paper street), and Hillcrest Avenue. The City Plan Commission (CPC) recommended the first two abandonments subject to conditions; the third petition remained under discussion. Public testimony was heard from property owners, neighbors, and city officials.

Public Comments & Testimony

Falmouth Street Abandonment: Robert Azar, Deputy Director of Planning and Development, explained that Falmouth Street is an undeveloped paper street that provides no public access and is a good candidate for abandonment. The CPC recommended approval subject to conditions including abutter agreement, subdivision, and easements. The petitioner's representative confirmed all abutters are in agreement and intend to maintain the softscape for utility access. The tax assessor's office (Bailey Coil) stated they had not yet valued the property due to incomplete information on the portion in Providence.
Steele Street Abandonment: Robert Azar again described Steele Street as an undeveloped paper street. Nick Vasiloff (64 Evergreen Street) spoke against the abandonment, stating that Steele Street is the only way to access the back of his property for maintenance without trespassing. Daryl William (29 Woodbine Street) expressed concerns about parking and construction traffic from a proposed duplex, noting that Woodbine Street is already overcrowded and the area has many rental units with multiple vehicles. The petitioner's attorney, Dylan Connolly, stated they plan to build a for-sale side-by-side duplex with integral parking, and are willing to work with neighbors on easements. He noted that the neighbor at 314 Woodbine supports the abandonment subject to conditions, and that they have conceptual agreements with two abutters. The tax assessor's office had not valued the property due to concerns about landlocking lot 315.
Hillcrest Avenue Abandonment: Robert Azar noted discussions with the petitioner but no CPC recommendation yet. The tax assessor's office had not valued the property due to uncertainty about impact on other properties. Mark Karate (MP General Contractors) stated he is in discussions with the city's planning department and public works to determine the best development approach, either keeping the road public or abandoning it.

Discussion Items

Falmouth Street (Item 1): The CPC recommended approval subject to four conditions: (1) abutters agree on a plan for abandonment and subdivision prior to appearing before the council, depicted on a survey; (2) petitioner shall apply for an administrative subdivision to merge the abandoned street with their properties; (3) abandonment applies only to the portion within Providence (not the corner in North Providence); (4) petitioners shall grant necessary easements for access, utilities, and maintenance. The petitioner's representative confirmed all abutters are in agreement.
Steele Street (Item 2): The CPC recommended approval with similar conditions. Concerns were raised about potential landlocking of lot 315 and the need for a clear survey. The petitioner's attorney committed to working with neighbors and providing access easements, and stated they would not build within 10 feet of the property line. The committee encouraged the petitioner to reach out to the neighbor who spoke in opposition.
Hillcrest Avenue (Item 3): No CPC recommendation yet. The petitioner is exploring whether to develop the road and turn it back to the city or pursue abandonment. A meeting with city departments is planned after the surveyor provides paperwork.

Key Outcomes

No votes were taken; the hearing was for public testimony and discussion.
The committee heard testimony on all three items and will consider next steps.
For Falmouth Street and Steele Street, the petitions will likely proceed to a future council vote after the conditions are met and valuations are provided.
For Hillcrest Avenue, the petitioner will continue negotiations with city departments and report back.

Meeting Transcript

We good. All right. Good evening, everyone. Thank you for taking your time to be here today at City Hall and do the people's business. Welcome to the committee of public works. This is a public hearing today. We're going to listen to everyone who's here today. Today is Monday, December 1st, 2025, and it's 5.33 o'clock p.m. Um. I want to say welcome to my colleagues, Consulman Miguel Sanchez, Consulman Pedro Spinal, Consulman Um Jostin Royers, Consulwoman Tia Grave, and to the solicitor, the barman. They better give you a name next time. And to Babazar. But especially to the to the people who comes in here and testify. Can you read item one, please? Sorry. Patricia Mdeya M. Vega and Christopher J. Armstrong of 70 Brightwood Avenue and Joanne S. Kasha. I can't pronounce the thank you. Of 45 Audubon Avenue, Annabelle E. Sorrow and Matthew A. 37 Audubon Avenue requesting to abandon Falmouth Street. See the side, can you please bring me the list? First one. The first one. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Okay. I will have uh Bob Aesar to talk about these item number one for now. Thank you. Welcome. Good evening, Mr. Chair, members of the committee. I'm Robert Azar. I'm the deputy director of the Department of Planning and Development. All street abandonment requests get reviewed by the City Plan Commission. This one, the abandonment of Falmouth Street, came uh to the City Plan Commission uh a few months ago, and um the commission made certain findings uh that are outlined in a letter that was forwarded to you. Uh this is a what we call a paper street. It's undeveloped, it shows up on the map, but on the ground it's uh it's um it's not paved, it's wooded, um, and it is not uh providing um access to um for the public to any property. It appears only to be useful to uh the property that it abuts. Uh and in these circumstances, um our policies indicate that this would be a good candidate for abandonment. These um the the street would be um made private property, it would be subdivided and the uh land would be divided up among the uh abutting property owners. So the city plan commission uh recommends that the council approve this petition subject to several conditions. One that the abutters come to an agreement on a plan for abandonment and subdivision prior to uh appearing before the city council, and this has to be depicted on a survey. Um, the petitioner shall apply for an administrative subdivision to merge the abandoned street with their respective properties. Uh three, the abandonment shall only apply to the portion of the street within Providence, and uh obviously since you don't have jurisdiction there, uh, shall not apply to North Providence. There is a tiny corner of this uh street within this block that is is in the town of North Providence, and then finally that the petitioners shall grant any necessary easements for access to property, utility access, and maintenance. Okay, thank you very much.

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