Direction Action for Rights & Equality (DARE), which represents South Side community residents, has released a resolution calling for the city to maintain industrial zoning for Providence’s working waterfront:

On September 22, 2008, the Board of Directors of Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE) resolved to send the following message to the Providence Department of Planning and the Providence City Plan Commission:

• Because DARE’s members have clearly stated that our community needs well-paying jobs with good benefits which are attainable by people of varied education levels;
• Because DARE’s members have clearly stated that our community, especially the South Side, is endangered by gentrification and displacement; and
• Because DARE’s members have clearly stated their concerns about the effects of high energy costs on our community’s ability to survive,

the Board of Directors of DARE opposes any attempts to re-zone Providence’s industrial waterfront as a “mixed-use” zone. We do not want condos, marinas, restaurants, shops, and/or office buildings to be allowed there. We want the City of Providence to do everything in its power to encourage the success of waterfront industry and to bring in more good jobs, especially “green jobs” and jobs for Providence residents. We also urge the Department of Planning to adopt the attached principles of people-centered, community-controlled development.