This bill amends sections 45-24-31 and 45-24-37 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-24, which is titled "Zoning Ordinances." The amendment adds new definitions for "adaptive reuse," "agricultural land," and "airport hazard area," and makes changes to existing definitions. It also adds and deletes definitions related to zoning and land development, such as "floating zone," "floodplains," "freeboard," "halfway house," "historic district," and "home occupation." The bill also adds new provisions related to zoning and land use, including allowing adaptive reuse of commercial buildings for residential or mixed-use developments and addressing setbacks and height requirements for existing structures in adaptive reuse projects.

One notable provision is the addition of adaptive reuse as a permitted use for the conversion of commercial buildings into residential units or mixed-use developments. This use is allowed as long as at least 50% of the existing gross floor area is developed into residential units, and there are no environmental land use restrictions preventing the conversion. Additionally, adaptive reuse developments are exempt from off-street parking requirements of over one space per dwelling unit. The bill also addresses existing building setbacks and the height of existing structures in adaptive reuse projects. The bill will take effect on January 1, 2024.