2022 -- S 2636
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LC005226
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S TATE OF RHODE IS L A N D
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022
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A N A CT
RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- ZONING ORDINANCES
Introduced By: Senators Kallman, Mack, Acosta, Burke, Ruggerio, and Valverde
Date Introduced: March 10, 2022
Referred To: Senate Judiciary
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Sections 45-24-31 and 45-24-37 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-24
2 entitled "Zoning Ordinances" are hereby amended to read as follows:
3 45-24-31. Definitions.
4 Where words or terms used in this chapter are defined in § 45-22.2-4 or 45-23-32, they
5 have the meanings stated in that section. In addition, the following words have the following
6 meanings. Additional words and phrases may be used in developing local ordinances under this
7 chapter; however, the words and phrases defined in this section are controlling in all local
8 ordinances created under this chapter:
9 (1) Abutter. One whose property abuts, that is, adjoins at a border, boundary, or point with
10 no intervening land.
11 (2) Accessory dwelling unit. A dwelling unit: (i) Rented to and occupied either by one or
12 more members of the family of the occupant or occupants of the principal residence; or (ii)
13 Reserved for rental occupancy by a person or a family where the principal residence is owner
14 occupied and that meets the following provisions:
15 (A) In zoning districts that allow residential uses, no more than one accessory dwelling unit
16 may be an accessory to a single-family dwelling.
17 (B) An accessory dwelling unit shall include separate cooking and sanitary facilities, with
18 its own legal means of ingress and egress, and is a complete, separate dwelling unit. The accessory
19 dwelling unit shall be within, or attached to, the principal dwelling-unit structure or within an
1 existing structure, such as a garage or barn, and designed so that the appearance of the principal
2 structure remains that of a one-family residence.
3 (3) Accessory use. A use of land or of a building, or portion thereof, customarily incidental
4 and subordinate to the principal use of the land or building. An accessory use may be restricted to
5 the same lot as the principal use. An accessory use shall not be permitted without the principal use
6 to which it is related.
7 (4) Aggrieved party. An aggrieved party, for purposes of this chapter, shall be:
8 (i) Any person, or persons, or entity, or entities, who or that can demonstrate that his, her,
9 or its property will be injured by a decision of any officer or agency responsible for administering
10 the zoning ordinance of a city or town; or
11 (ii) Anyone requiring notice pursuant to this chapter.
12 (5) Agricultural land. "Agricultural land," as defined in § 45-22.2-4.
13 (6) Airport hazard area. "Airport hazard area," as defined in § 1-3-2.
14 (7) Applicant. An owner, or authorized agent of the owner, submitting an application or
15 appealing an action of any official, board, or agency.
16 (8) Application. The completed form, or forms, and all accompanying documents, exhibits,
17 and fees required of an applicant by an approving authority for development review, approval, or
18 permitting purposes.
19 (9) Buffer. Land that is maintained in either a natural or landscaped state, and is used to
20 screen or mitigate the impacts of development on surrounding areas, properties, or rights-of-way.
21 (10) Building. Any structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or
22 occupancy.
23 (11) Building envelope. The three-dimensional space within which a structure is permitted
24 to be built on a lot and that is defined by regulations governing building setbacks, maximum height,
25 and bulk; by other regulations; or by any combination thereof.
26 (12) Building height. For a vacant parcel of land, building height shall be measured from
27 the average, existing-grade elevation where the foundation of the structure is proposed. For an
28 existing structure, building height shall be measured from average grade taken from the outermost
29 four (4) corners of the existing foundation. In all cases, building height shall be measured to the top
30 of the highest point of the existing or proposed roof or structure. This distance shall exclude spires,
31 chimneys, flag poles, and the like. For any property or structure located in a special flood hazard
32 area, as shown on the official FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), or depicted on the
33 Rhode Island coastal resources management council (CRMC) suggested design elevation three foot
34 (3') sea level rise (CRMC SDE 3 SLR) map as being inundated during a one-hundred-year (100)
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1 storm, the greater of the following amounts, expressed in feet, shall be excluded from the building
2 height calculation:
3 (i) The base flood elevation on the FEMA FIRM plus up to five feet (5') of any utilized or
4 proposed freeboard, less the average existing grade elevation; or
5 (ii) The suggested design elevation as depicted on the CRMC SDE 3 SLR map during a
6 one-hundred-year (100) storm, less the average existing grade elevation. CRMC shall reevaluate
7 the appropriate suggested design elevation map for the exclusion every ten (10) years, or as
8 otherwise necessary.
9 (13) Cluster. A site-planning technique that concentrates buildings in specific areas on the
10 site to allow the remaining land to be used for recreation, common open space, and/or preservation
11 of environmentally, historically, culturally, or other sensitive features and/or structures. The
12 techniques used to concentrate buildings shall be specified in the ordinance and may include, but
13 are not limited to, reduction in lot areas, setback requirements, and/or bulk requirements, with the
14 resultant open land being devoted by deed restrictions for one or more uses. Under cluster
15 development, there is no increase in the number of lots that would be permitted under conventional
16 development except where ordinance provisions include incentive bonuses for certain types or
17 conditions of development.
18 (14) Common ownership. Either:
19 (i) Ownership by one or more individuals or entities in any form of ownership of two (2)
20 or more contiguous lots; or
21 (ii) Ownership by any association (ownership may also include a municipality) of one or
22 more lots under specific development techniques.
23 (15) Community residence. A home or residential facility where children and/or adults
24 reside in a family setting and may or may not receive supervised care. This does not include halfway
25 houses or substance-use-disorder-treatment facilities. This does include, but is not limited to, the
26 following:
27 (i) Whenever six (6) or fewer children or adults with intellectual and/or developmental
28 disability reside in any type of residence in the community, as licensed by the state pursuant to
29 chapter 24 of title 40.1. All requirements pertaining to local zoning are waived for these community
30 residences;
31 (ii) A group home providing care or supervision, or both, to not more than eight (8) persons
32 with disabilities, and licensed by the state pursuant to chapter 24 of title 40.1;
33 (iii) A residence for children providing care or supervision, or both, to not more than eight
34 (8) children, including those of the caregiver, and licensed by the state pursuant to chapter 72.1 of
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1 title 42;
2 (iv) A community transitional residence providing care or assistance, or both, to no more
3 than six (6) unrelated persons or no more than three (3) families, not to exceed a total of eight (8)
4 persons, requiring temporary financial assistance, and/or to persons who are victims of crimes,
5 abuse, or neglect, and who are expected to reside in that residence not less than sixty (60) days nor
6 more than two (2) years. Residents will have access to, and use of, all common areas, including
7 eating areas and living rooms, and will receive appropriate social services for the purpose of
8 fostering independence, self-sufficiency, and eventual transition to a permanent living situation.
9 (16) Comprehensive plan. The comprehensive plan adopted and approved pursuant to
10 chapter 22.2 of this title and to which any zoning adopted pursuant to this chapter shall be in
11 compliance.
12 (17) Day care -- Daycare center. Any other daycare center that is not a family daycare
13 home.
14 (18) Day care -- Family daycare home. Any home, other than the individual's home, in
15 which day care in lieu of parental care or supervision is offered at the same time to six (6) or less
16 individuals who are not relatives of the caregiver, but may not contain more than a total of eight
17 (8) individuals receiving day care.
18 (19) Density, residential. The number of dwelling units per unit of land.
19 (20) Development. The construction, reconstruction, conversion, structural alteration,
20 relocation, or enlargement of any structure; any mining, excavation, landfill, or land disturbance;
21 or any change in use, or alteration or extension of the use, of land.
22 (21) Development plan review. The process whereby authorized, local officials review the
23 site plans, maps, and other documentation of a development to determine the compliance with the
24 stated purposes and standards of the ordinance.
25 (22) District. See "zoning-use district."
26 (23) Drainage system. A system for the removal of water from land by drains, grading, or
27 other appropriate means. These techniques may include runoff controls to minimize erosion and
28 sedimentation during and after construction or development; the means for preserving surface and
29 groundwaters; and the prevention and/or alleviation of flooding.
30 (24) Dwelling unit. A structure, or portion of a structure, providing complete, independent
31 living facilities for one or more persons, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating,
32 cooking, and sanitation, and containing a separate means of ingress and egress.
33 (25) Extractive industry. The extraction of minerals, including: solids, such as coal and
34 ores; liquids, such as crude petroleum; and gases, such as natural gases. The term also includes
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1 quarrying; well operation; milling, such as crushing, screening, washing, and flotation; and other
2 preparation customarily done at the extraction site or as a part of the extractive activity.
3 (26) Family member. A person, or persons, related by blood, marriage, or other legal
4 means, including, but not limited to, a child, parent, spouse, mother-in-law, father-in-law,
5 grandparents, grandchildren, domestic partner, sibling, care recipient, or member of the household.
6 (27) Floating zone. An unmapped zoning district adopted within the ordinance that is
7 established on the zoning map only when an application for development, meeting the zone
8 requirements, is approved.
9 (28) Floodplains, or Flood hazard area. As defined in § 45-22.2-4.
10 (29) Freeboard. A factor of safety expressed in feet above the base flood elevation of a
11 flood hazard area for purposes of floodplain management. Freeboard compensates for the many
12 unknown factors that could contribute to flood heights, such as wave action, bridge openings, and
13 the hydrological effect of urbanization of the watershed.
14 (30) Groundwater. "Groundwater" and associated terms, as defined in § 46-13.1-3.
15 (31) Halfway house. A residential facility for adults or children who have been
16 institutionalized for criminal conduct and who require a group setting to facilitate the transition to
17 a functional member of society.
18 (32) Hardship. See § 45-24-41.
19 (33) Historic district or historic site. As defined in § 45-22.2-4.
20 (34) Home occupation. Any activity customarily carried out for gain by a resident,
21 conducted as an accessory use in the resident's dwelling unit.
22 (35) Household. One or more persons living together in a single-dwelling unit, with
23 common access to, and common use of, all living and eating areas and all areas and facilities for
24 the preparation and storage of food within the dwelling unit. The term "household unit" is
25 synonymous with the term "dwelling unit" for determining the number of units allowed within any
26 structure on any lot in a zoning district. An individual household shall consist of any one of the
27 following:
28 (i) A family, which may also include servants and employees living with the family; or
29 (ii) A person or group of unrelated persons living together. The maximum number may be
30 set by local ordinance, but this maximum shall not be less than three (3).
31 (36) Incentive zoning. The process whereby the local authority may grant additional
32 development capacity in exchange for the developer's provision of a public benefit or amenity as
33 specified in local ordinances.
34 (37) Infrastructure. Facilities and services needed to sustain residential, commercial,
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1 industrial, institutional, and other activities.
2 (38) Land-development project. A project in which one or more lots, tracts, or parcels of
3 land are developed or redeveloped as a coordinated site for one or more uses, units, or structures,
4 including, but not limited to, planned development or cluster development for residential,
5 commercial, institutional, recreational, open space, or mixed uses as provided in the zoning
6 ordinance.
7 (39) Lot. Either:
8 (i) The basic development unit for determination of lot area, depth, and other dimensional
9 regulations; or
10 (ii) A parcel of land whose boundaries have been established by some legal instrument,
11 such as a recorded deed or recorded map, and that is recognized as a separate legal entity for
12 purposes of transfer of title.
13 (40) Lot area. The total area within the boundaries of a lot, excluding any street right-of-
14 way, usually reported in acres or square feet.
15 (41) Lot area, minimum. The smallest land area established by the local zoning ordinance
16 upon which a use, building, or structure may be located in a particular zoning district.
17 (42) Lot building coverage. That portion of the lot that is, or may be, covered by buildings
18 and accessory buildings.
19 (43) Lot depth. The distance measured from the front lot line to the rear lot line. For lots
20 where the front and rear lot lines are not parallel, the lot depth is an average of the depth.
21 (44) Lot frontage. That portion of a lot abutting a street. A zoning ordinance shall specify
22 how noncontiguous frontage will be considered with regard to minimum frontage requirements.
23 (45) Lot line. A line of record, bounding a lot, that divides one lot from another lot or from
24 a public or private street or any other public or private space and shall include:
25 (i) Front: the lot line separating a lot from a street right-of-way. A zoning ordinance shall
26 specify the method to be used to determine the front lot line on lots fronting on more than one
27 street, for example, corner and through lots;
28 (ii) Rear: the lot line opposite and most distant from the front lot line, or in the case of
29 triangular or otherwise irregularly shaped lots, an assumed line at least ten feet (10') in length
30 entirely within the lot, parallel to and at a maximum distance from, the front lot line; and
31 (iii) Side: any lot line other than a front or rear lot line. On a corner lot, a side lot line may
32 be a street lot line, depending on requirements of the local zoning ordinance.
33 (46) Lot size, minimum. Shall have the same meaning as "minimum lot area" defined
34 herein.
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1 (47) Lot, through. A lot that fronts upon two (2) parallel streets, or that fronts upon two (2)
2 streets that do not intersect at the boundaries of the lot.
3 (48) Lot width. The horizontal distance between the side lines of a lot measured at right
4 angles to its depth along a straight line parallel to the front lot line at the minimum front setback
5 line.
6 (49) Mere inconvenience. See § 45-24-41.
7 (50) Mixed use. A mixture of land uses within a single development, building, or tract.
8 (51) Modification. Permission granted and administered by the zoning enforcement officer
9 of the city or town, and pursuant to the provisions of this chapter to grant a dimensional variance
10 other than lot area requirements from the zoning ordinance to a limited degree as determined by
11 the zoning ordinance of the city or town, but not to exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of each of
12 the applicable dimensional requirements.
13 (52) Nonconformance. A building, structure, or parcel of land, or use thereof, lawfully
14 existing at the time of the adoption or amendment of a zoning ordinance and not in conformity with
15 the provisions of that ordinance or amendment. Nonconformance i