2025 -- S 0715

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LC002039

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- ZONING ORDINANCES

     Introduced By: Senators Mack, Bissaillon, Kallman, Quezada, and Bell

     Date Introduced: March 07, 2025

     Referred To: Senate Housing & Municipal Government

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 45-24-33 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-24 entitled "Zoning

Ordinances" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     45-24-33. Standard provisions.

     (a) A zoning ordinance shall address each of the purposes stated in § 45-24-30 and shall

address, through reasonable objective standards and criteria, the following general provisions

which are numbered for reference purposes only except as prohibited by § 45-24-30(b), § 45-24-

30(c), or § 45-24-30(d):

     (1) Permitting, prohibiting, limiting, and restricting the development of land and structures

in zoning districts, and regulating those land and structures according to their type and the nature

and extent of their use;

     (2) Regulating the nature and extent of the use of land for residential, commercial,

industrial, institutional, recreational, agricultural, open space, or other use or combination of uses,

as the need for land for those purposes is determined by the city or town’s comprehensive plan;

     (3) Permitting, prohibiting, limiting, and restricting buildings, structures, land uses, and

other development by performance standards, or other requirements, related to air and water and

groundwater quality, noise and glare, energy consumption, soil erosion and sedimentation, and/or

the availability and capacity of existing and planned public or private services;

     (4) Regulating within each district and designating requirements for:

     (i) The height, number of stories, and size of buildings;

     (ii) The dimensions, size, lot coverage, layout of lots or development areas and floor area

ratios provided that zoning ordinances must exclude any portion of a basement as defined in § 45-

24.3-5 from the calculation of floor area ratio;

     (iii) The density and intensity of use;

     (iv) Access to air and light, views, and solar access;

     (v) Open space, yards, courts, and buffers;

     (vi) Parking areas, road design, and, where appropriate, pedestrian, bicycle, and other

circulator systems;

     (vii) Landscaping, fencing, and lighting;

     (viii) Appropriate drainage requirements and methods to manage stormwater runoff;

     (ix) Public access to waterbodies, rivers, and streams; and

     (x) Other requirements in connection with any use of land or structure;

     (5) Permitting, prohibiting, limiting, and restricting development in flood plains or flood

hazard areas and designated significant natural areas;

     (6) Promoting the conservation of energy and promoting energy-efficient patterns of

development;

     (7) Providing for the protection of existing and planned public drinking water supplies,

their tributaries and watersheds, and the protection of Narragansett Bay, its tributaries and

watershed;

     (8) Providing for adequate, safe, and efficient transportation systems; and avoiding

congestion by relating types and levels of development to the capacity of the circulation system,

and maintaining a safe level of service of the system;

     (9) Providing for the preservation and enhancement of the recreational resources of the city

or town;

     (10) Promoting an economic climate that increases quality job opportunities and the overall

economic well-being of the city or town and the state;

     (11) Providing for pedestrian access to and between public and private facilities, including,

but not limited to, schools, employment centers, shopping areas, recreation areas, and residences;

     (12) Providing standards for, and requiring the provision of, adequate and properly

designed physical improvements, including plantings, and the proper maintenance of property;

     (13) Permitting, prohibiting, limiting, and restricting land use in areas where development

is deemed to create a hazard to the public health or safety;

     (14) Permitting, prohibiting, limiting, and restricting extractive industries and earth

removal and requiring restoration of land after these activities;

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     (15) Regulating sanitary landfill, except as otherwise provided by state statute;

     (16) Permitting, prohibiting, limiting, and restricting signs and billboards and other outdoor

advertising devices;

     (17) Designating airport hazard areas under the provisions of chapter 3 of title 1, and

enforcement of airport hazard area zoning regulations under the provisions established in that

chapter;

     (18) Designating areas of historic, cultural, and/or archaeological value and regulating

development in those areas under the provisions of chapter 24.1 of this title;

     (19) Providing standards and requirements for the regulation, review, and approval of any

proposed development in connection with those uses of land, buildings, or structures specifically

designated as subject to development plan review in a zoning ordinance;

     (20) Designating special protection areas for water supply and limiting or prohibiting

development in these areas, except as otherwise provided by state statute;

     (21) Specifying requirements for safe road access to developments from existing streets,

including limiting the number, design, and location of curb cuts, and provisions for internal

circulation systems for new developments, and provisions for pedestrian and bicycle ways;

     (22) Reducing unnecessary delay in approving or disapproving development applications

through provisions for preapplication conferences and other means;

     (23) Providing for the application of the Rhode Island Fair Housing Practices Act, chapter

37 of title 34, the United States Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (FHAA); the Rhode Island

Civil Rights of People with Disabilities Act, chapter 87 of title 42; and the Americans with

Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.; and

     (24) Regulating drive-through windows of varied intensity of use when associated with

land-use activities and providing standards and requirements for the regulation, review, and

approval of the drive-through windows, including, but not limited to:

     (i) Identifying within which zoning districts drive-through windows may be permitted,

prohibited, or permitted by special-use permit;

     (ii) Specifying requirements for adequate traffic circulation; and

     (iii) Providing for adequate pedestrian safety and access, including issues concerning safety

and access for those with disabilities.

     (b) A On or before July 31, 2026, a zoning ordinance may shall include special provisions

for any or all of the following:

     (1) Authorizing development incentives, including, but not limited to, additional permitted

uses, increased development and density, or additional design or dimensional flexibility in

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exchange for:

     (i) Increased open space;

     (ii) Increased housing choices;

     (iii) Traffic and pedestrian improvements;

     (iv) Public and/or private facilities; and/or

     (v) Other amenities as desired by the city or town and consistent with its comprehensive

plan. The provisions in the ordinance shall include maximum allowable densities of population

and/or intensities of use and shall indicate the type of improvements, amenities, and/or conditions.

Conditions may be made for donation in lieu of direct provisions for improvements or amenities;

     (2) Establishing a system for transfer of development rights within or between zoning

districts designated in the zoning ordinance; and

     (3) Regulating the development adjacent to designated scenic highways, scenic waterways,

major thoroughfares, public greenspaces, or other areas of special public investment or valuable

natural resources.

     (c) Slope of land shall not be excluded from the calculation of the buildable lot area or the

minimum lot size, or in the calculation of the number of buildable lots or units.

     (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict a municipality’s right, within state

and local regulations, to establish its own minimum lot size per zoning district in its town or city;

provided that, in order to conserve the state’s farmlands and forests, as well as to make efficient

use of existing public infrastructure investments, no minimum lot size requirement for a residential

use shall exceed the following parameters:

     (1) Two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet, for a lot that is served by public water

and sewer and any portion of the lot is located within a quarter (1/4) mile of a public transit stop or

station;

     (2) Five thousand (5,000) square feet, for a lot that is served by public water and sewer;

and

     (3) One acre, for any other lot; provided that, all parcels remain subject to state law and

regulation concerning drinking water wells, individual sewage disposal systems, and the protection

of freshwater wetlands.

     (4) Each city or town shall amend its zoning ordinance and comprehensive plan to conform

to this subsection.

     SECTION 2. Section 45-23-44 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-23 entitled "Subdivision

of Land" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     45-23-44. General provisions — Physical design requirements.

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     (a) All local regulations shall specify, through reasonable, objective standards and criteria,

all physical design requirements for subdivisions and land-development projects that are to be

reviewed and approved pursuant to the regulations. Regulations shall specify all requirements and

policies for subdivisions and land-development projects that are not contained in the municipality’s

zoning ordinance.

     (b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict a municipality’s right, within state

and local regulations, to establish its own minimum lot size per zoning district in its town or city,

subject to the limitation set forth in § 45-24-33(d).

     (c) The slope of land shall not be excluded from the calculation of the buildable lot area or

the minimum lot size, or in the calculation of the number of buildable lots or units.

     (d) Wetland buffers, as defined in § 2-1-20, shall be included in the calculation of a

minimum lot area and in the total number of square feet or acres of a tract or parcel of land before

calculating the maximum potential number of units or lots for development; provided, however,

that this shall not apply to lots directly abutting surface reservoirs with direct withdrawals used for

public drinking water. Nothing herein changes the definition and applicability of a “buildable lot”

as set forth under § 45-23-60(a)(4); and nothing herein permits the disturbance of wetlands or

wetland buffers or otherwise alters the provisions of the freshwater wetlands act, § 2-1-18 et seq.

     (e) The requirements and policies may include, but are not limited to: requirements and

policies for rights-of-way, open space, landscaping, connections of proposed streets and drainage

systems with those of the surrounding neighborhood; public access through property to adjacent

public property; and the relationship of proposed developments to natural and man-made features

of the surrounding neighborhood.

     (f) The regulations shall specify all necessary findings, formulas for calculations, and

procedures for meeting the requirements and policies. These requirements and policies apply to all

subdivisions and land development projects reviewed and/or administered under the local

regulations.

     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- ZONING ORDINANCES

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     This act would limit municipal minimum lot sizes for residential use to 2,500 sq ft near

transit, 5,000 sq. ft with water/sewer, and 1 acre otherwise, while protecting farmlands, forests, and

wetlands, and requiring zoning updates to comply.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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