The Warwick City Council’s final regular meeting focused on changes to the city’s zoning ordinance to comply with state law, with many residents expressing frustration and discontent with the new regulations, which take effect Jan. 1.

The regulations now comply with new statewide zoning regulations, which were passed in the form of a series of 14 bills passed by the General Assembly earlier this year.

Speaker of the House K. Joseph Shekarchi (D-Warwick) said in a May press release that the bills would help create more affordable housing in the state and ease the current housing crisis.

“My goal is that by making the development process simpler, faster, and more predictable, we’re not only expediting work already in the pipeline, but also incentivizing more private developers to invest in Rhode Island,” Shekarchi said.

Due to the concerns of some residents about up zoning certain areas, environmental concerns, and concerns about some projects not getting properly vetted due to the faster process, some speakers accused Shekarchi of selling out their interests to these developers.

“I think Warwick should ask him- who pushed it through? Was it the lobbyists?” Conimicut Village Association president Leslie Derrig said. “I think this was really being pushed through, and someone should push the pause button.”

In a phone call Tuesday, Shekarchi said “two years worth of study” involving realtors, representatives from the affordable housing sector plus other stakeholders went into writing the legislation. He said groups worked collaboratively and the process was transparent. He said the state has a housing problem and if there is a better way to address it, “I’m all ears.”

Others believe Shekarchi has good intentions, yet said they had problems with at least some parts of the new zoning regulations.

“What he’s trying to do is create more housing for people, which is a great idea for Warwick,” resident Richard Langseth said. “I think we’re in a wonderful position to invite new people into the community through the concept of this ordinance. But the details are very important too.”

Langseth also said that city officials needed to be careful regarding blocking certain Buttonwoods roads, as it may be considered a criminal violation due to their providing access to the shore.

Warwick City Planner Tom Kravitz said he did not want to go into January without having anything adopted, and would still be able to take issues with developments on a case-by-case basis.

“We’re going to be able to protect the environment, deal with traffic in a professional manner, just like we’ve always been doing,” Kravitz said. “There’ll be more on the planning board’s plate, that’s for sure, through unified development and review, but they’re ready to meet the challenge.”

Kravitz said that over the upcoming year, the committee can determine what changes do not work, and can make some amendments, though state law will make it impossible to repeal some of the changes.

Ultimately, the three items on the City Council’s agenda pertaining to zoning passed with a unanimous vote.

Resident Rob Cote spoke about the incident in the July 17 City Council meeting between him and Ward 6 Councilwoman Donna Travis, and said that he believes the City Council has “taken incremental steps… to sequester free speech.”

“She has shown absolutely no remorse, but more importantly, five months as of yesterday, neither she nor this council nor this administration have issued one word publicly recognizing that they violated the fundamental doctrine that the United States was built upon,” Cote said. “That, to me, says that this council or this administration either support or condone her outrageous behavior, and it seems pretty evident to me.”

The council also welcomed Becka Carroll, the co-director of the Buy Nothing Day coat exchange, who will be holding a drive for socks and underwear for the less fortunate called Spare Repair in January. Carroll said that current drop-off points for donated goods are offices in Cranston and East Greenwich, though she would like to add a donation site in Warwick as well.

“For many of us, they’re simply the first things we put on in the morning when we wake up, but for somebody who is living on the streets or living in a shelter, it can make a world of difference to have clean underwear and clean socks that actually fit them,” Carroll said.

Ward 1 councilman William Foley said the city would try to implement a collection site for the drive in some of its public buildings.