Diruzzo v. Spagnoli

• Court: Rhode Island Superior Court
• Writing for the Court: TAFT-CARTER, J.
• Decision Date: 20 October 2022
• Docket Number: C. A. WC-2021-0258
• Citation: Diruzzo v. Spagnoli, C. A. WC-2021-0258 (R.I. Super. Oct 20, 2022)
• Parties: DINA DIRUZZO and CAROL LACLAIR, Plaintiffs, v. CHRISTINE SPAGNOLI, in her capacity as the Finance Director of the Town of Narragansett; JESSE PUGH, in his capacity as the President of the Town Council of the Town of Narragansett; SUSAN P. CICILLINE - BUONANNO, in her capacity as the President Pro Tem of The Town Council of the Town of Narragansett; EWA M. DZWIERZYNSKI, in her capacity as a member of the Town Council of the Town of Narragansett; DEBORAH A. KOPECH, in her capacity as a member of the Town Council of the Town of Narragansett; PATRICK W. MURRAY, in his capacity as a member of the Town Council of the Town of Narragansett; and, JAMES R. TIERNEY, in his capacity as the Town Manager of the Town of Narragansett; Defendants.

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DINA DIRUZZO and CAROL LACLAIR, Plaintiffs, v. CHRISTINE SPAGNOLI, in her capacity as the Finance Director of the Town of Narragansett; JESSE PUGH, in his capacity as the President of the Town Council of the Town of Narragansett; SUSAN P. CICILLINE - BUONANNO, in her capacity as the President Pro Tem of The Town Council of the Town of Narragansett; EWA M. DZWIERZYNSKI, in her capacity as a member of the Town Council of the Town of Narragansett; DEBORAH A. KOPECH, in her capacity as a member of the Town Council of the Town of Narragansett; PATRICK W. MURRAY, in his capacity as a member of the Town Council of the Town of Narragansett; and, JAMES R. TIERNEY, in his capacity as the Town Manager of the Town of Narragansett; Defendants.

C. A. No. WC-2021-0258

Superior Court of Rhode Island, Washington

October 20, 2022

For Plaintiffs: John O. Mancini, Esq.; Nicholas J. Goodier, Esq.

For Defendants: James M. Callaghan, Esq.

DECISION

TAFT-CARTER, J.

Before this Court for decision is Dina DiRuzzo (DiRuzzo) and Carol LaClair's (LaClair) (collectively Plaintiffs) Motion for Injunctive Relief. In response to Plaintiffs' Motion, the Defendants-i.e., the Town of Narragansett; Christine Spagnoli, in her capacity as the Finance Director of the Town of Narragansett; Jesse Pugh, in his capacity as the President of the Town Council of the Town of Narragansett; Susan P Cicilline-Buonanno, in her capacity as the President Pro Tem of the Town Council of the Town of Narragansett; Ewa M. Dzwierzynski, in her capacity as a member of the Town Council of the Town of Narragansett; Deborah A. Kopech, in her capacity as a member of the Town Council of the Town of Narragansett; Patrick W. Murray, in his capacity as a member of the Town Council of the Town of Narragansett; and James R Tierney, in his capacity as the Town Manager of the Town of Narragansett (collectively the Defendants)-object.

Jurisdiction is pursuant to G.L. 1956 §§ 8-2-13, 8-2-14, and 9-30-1.

I Facts and Travel

The crux of the instant dispute concerns the constitutionality and validity of the Narragansett Town Council's (the Council) passage of an amendment to the Narragansett Code of Ordinances to permit parking on the south side of Conant Avenue, the north side of Pilgrim Avenue, and the south side of Louise Avenue "from 5:01 AM to 8:59 PM daily." See generally Verified Compl. for Declaratory J (Compl.); see also Defs.' Mem. of Law in Opp'n to Pls.' Mot. for Inj. Relief (Defs.' Opp'n Mem.) Ex. 8 (Narragansett Town Council Agenda for May 3, 2021) (providing detailed account of procedural developments and the contents of amendment).

Plaintiffs are both residents of Narragansett with homes located on Louise Avenue. See Compl. ¶¶ 1-2; Defs.' Answer to Verified Compl. (Defs.' Answer) ¶¶ 1-2 (admitting allegations as true). More specifically, DiRuzzo's home is located at 18 Louise Avenue and LaClair's home is located at 14 Louise Avenue. See Compl. ¶¶ 1-2; Defs.' Answer ¶¶ 1-2 (admitting allegations as true).

The roadways in question-i.e., Conant Avenue, Pilgrim Avenue, and Louise Avenue (the Subject Roadways)-all intersect with Ocean Road and Calef Avenue and are in close proximity to coastal access points. See Defs.' Opp'n Mem. Ex. 3 (Tax Assessor's Map). There is no dispute that the Subject Roadways are owned and maintained by the Town. See generally Pls.' Mem. of Law in Supp. of Their Mot. for Inj. Relief (Pls.' Mem.); Defs.' Opp'n Mem.; Defs.' Opp'n Mem. Ex. 11 (Baseline Report for Comprehensive Plan) (listing each of the Subject Roadways as an "Accepted Town Road"). There is also no dispute that prior to the amendments at issue, the previous parking restrictions were in place since 1970.

On January 4, 2021, the Council held one of its regular meetings (the January 4 Meeting). (Defs.' Opp'n Mem. Ex. 2 (January 4, 2021 Meeting Minutes).) The agenda for the January 4 Meeting included a motion to direct "the Town Solicitor to prepare an amendment to the Town's parking ordinance to add public parking spaces in the neighborhood around the waterfront public access points at the end of Conant Avenue and Pilgrim Avenue[.]" (Defs.' Opp'n Mem. Ex. 1 (January 4, 2021 Meeting Agenda).) The Council proceeded with the motion at the January 4 Meeting and allowed for public comment. See Defs.' Opp'n Mem. Ex. 2 (January 4, 2021 Meeting Minutes). Those offering statements with respect to the proposed resolution included DiRuzzo, Narragansett Chief of Police Sean Corrigan (Chief Corrigan), and the Narragansett Public Works Department Director Michael DiCicco. See id.

As a result of the comments, the Council introduced a motion to amend the pending motion. See id. The substance of the amended motion was to:

"[D]irect the Town Solicitor to amend the parking ordinance to allow legal parking on the south side of Conant Avenue from Ocean Road to the end of the public access point on the south side of Louise Avenue from Ocean Road to Calef Avenue, the north side of Pilgrim Avenue from Ocean Road to the end of the public access point, and to explore adding crushed stone where appropriate." Id.

After allowing for additional public comment, the motion to amend the motion to direct was approved by a unanimous vote. Id.

Thereafter, the Council scheduled a regular meeting for February 16, 2021 (the February 16 Meeting). See Defs.' Opp'n Mem. Ex. 4 (February 16, 2021 Meeting Agenda). There were four motions introduced at the February 16 Meeting that are relevant to the instant dispute. See Defs.' Opp'n Mem. Ex. 5 (February 16, 2021 Meeting Minutes).

The first motion was to "introduce, read, pass and accept as a first reading a resolution amending the Official List of Parking Restrictions and Regulations . . . to restrict parking on Nichols Avenue." Id. The Council heard testimony from Chief Corrigan, who suggested restricting parking on both sides of Nichols Avenue because "it is narrow and wet on the shoulders" and his department received complaints about parking on that road. Id. The Council also allowed for public comment-including comment from DiRuzzo-prior to approving the motion regarding Nichols Avenue by a unanimous vote. Id.

The second, third, and fourth motions were to "introduce, read, pass and accept as a first reading a resolution amending the official List of Parking Restrictions and Regulations in the Town of Narragansett in accordance with the Narragansett Code of Ordinances[.]" Id. These motions pertained to the proposal for additional public parking on the Subject Roadways and were amended to state "parking is permitted from 5:01 AM to 8:59 PM" for the proposed parking areas. Id. The Council heard public comment on these motions as well--including statements from Chief Corrigan, Plaintiffs, and other individuals-before voting unanimously in favor thereof. Id.

In addition, the Council's decision to add time restrictions was deemed to be significant enough to warrant another first reading of the amendments proposed with respect to parking regulations on the Subject Roadways. See id. (noting that Councilmember Cicilline-Buonanno suggested another first reading); Defs.' Opp'n Mem. Ex. 6 (March 1, 2021 Meeting Agenda) (listing plan to conduct another first reading of proposed amendments); Defs.' Opp'n Mem. Ex. 8 (May 3, 2021 Meeting Agenda) (stating basis for additional first reading).

On March 1, 2021, the Council held another regular meeting where it addressed proposed amendments to parking regulations in the Town (the March 1, 2021 Meeting). See Defs.' Opp'n Mem. Ex. 6 (March 1, 2021 Meeting Agenda). As with the February 16 Meeting, there were multiple motions introduced that are relevant to the instant dispute. See id.

The first motion was "to read, pass and adopt as a second reading a resolution amending the Official List of Parking Regulations . . . to restrict parking on Nichols Avenue." (Defs.' Opp'n Mem. Ex. 7 (March 1, 2021 Meeting Minutes).) Upon motion, the Council voted unanimously in favor of a second reading and the enactment of the parking restrictions for Nichols Avenue. Id.

The second motion was "to introduce, read, pass and accept as a first reading a resolution . . . to permit parking on the south side of Conant Avenue, the north side of Pilgrim Avenue, and the south side of Louise Avenue from 5:01 AM to 8:59 PM daily." Id. At the March 1 Meeting, proposed changes to parking regulations on the Subject Roadways were presented in the form of a consolidated resolution (the Consolidated Resolution). (Defs.' Opp'n Mem. Ex. 8 (May 3, 2021 Meeting Agenda) (containing attachment explaining consolidation of the amendments). The Council allowed for public comment from various individuals, including LaClair. Id. Thereafter, the Council voted unanimously to approve the motion for a first reading of the Consolidated Resolution. Id.

On March 12, 2021, the Narragansett Town Clerk received a petition filed in accordance with Section 2-1-9(a) of the Town's Charter, which contained the verified signatures of twenty-nine electors of the Town (the Hearing Petition). See Pls.' Mem. Ex. D (Petition for Public Hearing). The Hearing Petition requested that there be a public hearing on the proposed amendments contained in the Consolidated Resolution before any further action was taken with respect to the same. See Defs.' Opp'n Mem. Ex. 8 (May 3, 2021 Meeting Agenda) (containing letter to the Council detailing substance of the Hearing Petition). The Hearing Petition complied with § 2-1-9(a), thus requiring the Council to schedule a public hearing on the Consolidated Resolution. See Code of Ordinances of Town of Narragansett, Rhode Island § 2-1-9(a) (Sept. 18 2019). Accordingly, the Council scheduled the hearing for May 3, 2021 to take place at a regular meeting of the Council (the ...