The report is due in November. Once it's available, the town will hold public hearings. The Town Council will eventually consider a series of ordinances to govern construction. Towns such as South Kingstown and Charlestown have set an annual cap on building permits. And others, including Charlestown and Coventry, have temporarily banned all new construction of single-family houses.
Impact fees are under consideration in Cumberland.
The Zoning Board recently changed the way it calculates the total acreage available for house construction in a development, deciding that wetlands and steep slopes cannot be included when determining how many houses will fit on the land. That move already has resulted in a lawsuit, filed by developers who claim that the town is impinging on their right to use their property. As for residents, those who moved to Cumberland years ago to enjoy the rural character of the town are now dealing with the effects of development they never anticipated. Five years ago, a drive from Andrea Fortin's Payson Lane home through Chapel Four Corners in the northern end of town took about five minutes. Now it takes 15.