CITYWATCH Paolino prevails in demolition of Gulf station BY IAN DONNIS

A Superior Court judge has supported former Providence mayor Joseph R. Paolino Jr.’s contention that he didn’t need a permit when he ordered the demolition last year of a distinctive Gulf station across from the Holiday Inn on Atwells Avenue. The decision — which renders null and void the ordinance underlying the Downcity Design Review District — alarms preservationists, who fear that it could speed the destruction of other properties to make way for still more surface parking.

Paolino, who was criticized for leveling an idiosyncratic piece of architecture that served as a landmark in connecting the West Side with downtown, expressed satisfaction with the June 15 court decision by Judge Daniel A. Procaccini. "I hope there are a lot of ramifications," he says, adding that in his view, "If you want to fix a building up [within the Downcity Design Review District], or even knock it down, you don’t need permission from anybody."

In his decision, Procaccini wrote that the provisions of the Downcity District are "null and void," based on the city’s failure to depict the Downcity District on relevant maps, to comply with proper notice requirements prior to amending the ordinance, and to maintain the maps in the required location. The ruling prohibits the city from imposing penalties or fines against Paolino in the matter.

Thomas E. Deller, director of the Providence Department of Planning & Development, says it’s likely that the city will appeal the decision. He referred additional questions to the city’s law department, where a call seeking comment was not returned.

Clark Schoettle, executive director of the Providence Preservation Society’s Revolving Loan Fund (and a member of the Downcity Review Committee), says that the judge’s decision "probably has some merit" and indicates the need for fixing the ordinance governing building and demolition in the Downcity district. "Clearly, it puts all buildings in downtown at potential risk for demolition or insensitive alteration, so we don’t want to see that situation occur," Schoettle says. "I think there would be a movement to introduce a new ordinance to correct any deficiencies that the old ordinance might have had, and to try basically to pass a new ordinance and try to reinstate the same requirements the Downcity ordinance had or has right now."

The demolition last year of the Gulf station sparked an outcry in part because of concerns about an excess of surface parking lots in the downtown area. Not coincidentally, Schoettle notes that the Downcity Review Committee (DRC) has denied a number of requests in recent years to create additional surface parking lots — and he’s concerned that these efforts will resurface. In light of Procaccini’s decision, it’s conceivable that the DRC’s past rejection of the lots could be challenged. "We’re concerned [about the absence of the regulations]," Schoettle says, "and think that the protection of the ordinance is good for the city and good for the development of downtown."

Paolino has defended surface parking lots as an important downtown need. But the surface lots have also been cited by downtown developer Arnold "Buff" Chace, who plans a mixed-use, multi-story garage on Union Street, as an inhibition against further development.