Moment of truth

PROVIDENCE — The Providence City Council voted Thursday night to override Mayor Jorge Elorza’s veto of a zoning change that allows a 46-story luxury apartment tower proposed for downtown to surpass local height limits.

After a speech explaining her “yes” vote, Ward 11 City Councilwoman Mary Kay Harris, who originally voted against the change to the zoning ordinance but later said she might support the project, voted in favor of the override.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that the Hope Tower represents more opportunities than threats for my community,” Harris said. “It would allow for additional tax revenue that could come towards affordable housing.”

The council in late November approved the zoning change, which allows developers to exceed local 100-foot height restrictions and build up to 600 feet, on a 9-5 vote with one abstention. Elorza vetoed the ordinance a week later after developers of the Hope Point Tower refused to guarantee the city final approval over its design.

Ten “yes” votes were needed to pass the override.

The project will now move onto the design-review phase. The I-195 Redevelopment District Commission, advised by the Downtown Design Review Committee, will conduct that review. The Providence Planning Board will provide guidance and grant peripheral permits as needed.

“As we have said before, we remain bullish on Providence and Rhode Island,” the Fane Organization, the developer in charge of the project, said in a statement. “Hope Point … will be an exciting and successful project within the Innovation/Knowledge District, where entrepreneurs, innovators, makers and the movers of today and tomorrow will want to work, live and play.”

During her speech, Harris said she had been under intense pressure in recent days as people on both sides of the issue tried to persuade her.

“There’s been many things that have been happening, so much so that I can even say that it has affected my health in a way, simply because of the vicious way some people have presented themselves,” she said.

Harris asked police officers guarding the meeting to stand back so that the city sergeant could escort her and her colleagues out of the chambers after the vote.

But the main point of her speech was to explain that she still works for the low-income people in her community and those who struggle to afford housing. Before, when she voted against the zoning change that would allow the Hope Point Tower to be built, she said, she thought she was doing right by her community.

But after much consideration, she said she decided that the jobs, economic growth and tax revenue the project would bring would benefit her community more than hurt it.

“This decision was not easy,” she said. “I prayed about it. I talked to whoever would speak to me.”  

The reaction from the crowd in the City Council chambers was a mix of “boos” and cheers.

Elorza issued a statement immediately after the vote expressing his disappointment.

“I am saddened that Councilwoman Harris flipped her vote to side with the developer,” the statement says. “Every responsible expert has indicated that this project is not financially viable and will fail under its own weight. It's disappointing that our City Council ignored these warning signs and caved to continued political pressure, instead of siding with our residents."

How they voted

Voting to override Mayor Jorge Elorza's veto of the zoning change:

Luis Aponte, Ward 10

Carmen Castillo, Ward 9

Michael Correia, Ward 6

Mary Kay Harris, Ward 11

Terrence Hassett, Ward 12

John Igliozzi, Ward 7

Wilbur Jennings, Ward 8

Sabina Matos, Ward 15

Jo-Ann Ryan, Ward 5

Nicholas Narducci, Ward 4

Voting against the override

Bryan Principe, Ward 13

Nirva LaFortune, Ward 3

Samuel Zurier, Ward 2

Abstaining

Council President David Salvatore, Ward 14

Absent

Seth Yurdin, Ward 1

— mlist@providencejournal.com

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On Twitter: @madeleine_list