Developer Withdraws Plan for Mulligan’s Island

I received this email from Rachel McNally, President of Save Cranston’s Open Space:

We wanted to share with you that late this afternoon Churchill & Banks withdrew their Master Plan Application for the “Centre at Garden Hills,� which we can attribute to the intense pressure that the residents of Cranston placed on the developer and the fact that we were able to mobilize as a community.

The Informational Meeting that is scheduled for tomorrow night will still be happening, however the lawyer for C&B will be requesting approval from the Planning Commission to withdraw their application. SCOS will be making a formal statement about their request and because of our efforts to inform our neighbors throughout the City about the meeting we imagine that there will still be a crowd in attendance. We think it will be beneficial if we show C&B that the unity among Cranston residents brought upon by this proposal will remain strong. C&B or another developer will most likely attempt to develop this land in the future and we need to remain vigilant and ready for that.

This time will hopefully allow City officials to work to ensure that measures are taken to protect this land in the future. All SCOS efforts, including the Halloween Steak Fry, will continue and we thank you for all of the support you’ve shown so far.

11 thoughts on “Developer Withdraws Plan for Mulligan’s Island”

  1. Thank you to all of the residents of Cranston that came together to support SCOS and this issue. It has been great to see neighborhoods working together from all sides of the City and I hope it doesn’t stop now.

    We are well aware that our issue has not permanently disappeared, but today was a wonderful confirmation of the fact that citizens can make a difference in their communities and need to try to do so more often.

  2. I’d also like to thank the community who came out on Kmareka to post their comments in opposition to the proposed project. You can be sure that this had an impact on the developer’s decision to back down. These threads in particular had lots of great comments both from city leaders and residents:

    Developer Offers Land to Commercial Plan Abutters

    Why Open Space is Important

    This is what community is all about. And this is also part of what being a social worker is about for me. So it’s a good day for Cranston and a good day for social workers, working things socially in cyberspace.

  3. Well done, SCOS!!!

    I’m going to go play 18 holes at Mulligan’s (the par 3 course) to celebrate!

  4. I want to especially say thank-you to all who let me know that it was the council and the mayor who had to work hard to protect the interests of the homeowners and residents of the City of Cranston. Your work has not gone unnoticed in protecting the viability of your community. Great job done by all involved!

    Rachel is fully aware that I have asked the Planning Director and the City Solicitor to create an ordinance to protect this area for the future. May I suggest that we don’t forget those who represent us in the General Assembly in helping you and us the council in protecting this land as open space recreation for future generations to enjoy. So I have ask for a resolution to let the General Assembly know our intent and for them to help protect the state land. I support this 110%! Lets’ also get started on building the new playground and the revitalizing the baseball field for a future game. I look forward to the grand opening of this new recreation facility.

  5. I’d like to echo my congrats…

    Led by Rachel, a group of neighbors tackled a Goliath and protected their community.

    I’m proud of your collective efforts. I look forward to joining you in the future. If you’d like a new fight, our schools can always use good advocates!

  6. Rachel and Lori did an awesome job, plain and simple. It was great to see so many people involved and active, gives me hope. Any efforts to protect that land would be great, let me know what I can do to help. I think what I’ve learned most is that we need to stay organized and prepared for any future issues.

  7. Thank you for all of your kind words about our group and our accomplishment! We also wanted to say thank you to everyone that attended last night’s meeting. SCOS is looking forward to a long future in Cranston!

  8. I also want to thank everyone for all there support. I’ve met so many wonderful people since this all began. Crazy as it may seem this experience has enriched my life.

    It’s been a great new public awareness. I look forward to the future of SCOS and all it can do for our city and it’s residents.

  9. Andrea, my son is in 7th grade at Western Hills. If there is anything I can do to make a difference please let me know.

  11. It’s great to know there is a national group helping people choose what kind of community they want to be part of, instead of having it foisted on them by some developer-gone-wild. Good stuff.

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