Zoning Board Zenga-less For First Time In Decades

Joe Zenga was a fixture on the East Greenwich Zoning Board of Review for 26 years. He'd be there still if new term limits hadn't forced him to step off the board for at least two years.

"I miss my compadres," said Zenga recently. "And I miss the girls in the Planning Department."

One of those "girls," EG Planning Department head Lisa Bourbonnais, had this to say about Zenga: "He was a very consistent decision-maker. He made every effort as a voting member to keep the board user-friendly and pro-business. He was also always interested in putting the best foot forward for the Town. He was interested in how things looked, how they were maintained and how they functioned. He was definitely motivated by seeing East Greenwich maintain its reputation as just about the best place to live and work in Rhode Island."

Zenga said he saw hundreds of applications during his time on the board. He recalled a couple of contentious projects that failed: a Dunkin Donuts on New London Turnpike that didn't end up being built (instead, there's a McDonald's going up on that site now), and the proposal for a McDonald's on Main Street at Union Street – Centreville Bank came into that spot instead.

"We got much in the way of commercial properties through, which was good for the tax base. It broadened the tax base some, so that created income for the town," said Zenga. “I always tried to do what was right," he said of his time on the board. "I never got into any arguments.”