It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Sections 45-24-30, 45-24-33, 45-24-37, and 45-24-41 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-24 entitled "Zoning Ordinances" are hereby amended to read as follows:

45-24-30. General purposes of zoning ordinances. -- Zoning regulations shall be developed and maintained in accordance with a comprehensive plan prepared, adopted, and as may be amended in accordance with chapter 22.2 of this title and shall be designed to address the following purposes. The general assembly recognizes these purposes, each with equal priority and numbered for reference purposes only.

(1) Promoting the public health, safety, and general welfare.

(2) Providing for a range of uses and intensities of use appropriate to the character of the city or town and reflecting current and expected future needs.

(3) Providing for orderly growth and development which recognizes:

(a) The goals and patterns of land use contained in the comprehensive plan of the city or town adopted pursuant to chapter 22.2 of this title;

(b) The natural characteristics of the land, including its suitability for use based on soils characteristics, topography, and susceptibility to surface or groundwater pollution;

(c) The values and dynamic nature of coastal and freshwater ponds, the shoreline, and freshwater and coastal wetlands;

(d) The values of unique or valuable natural resources and features;

(e) The availability and capacity of existing and planned public and/or private services and facilities;

(f) The need to shape and balance urban and rural development; and

(g) The use of innovative development regulations and techniques.

(4) Providing for the control, protection, and/or abatement of air, water, groundwater, and noise pollution, and soil erosion and sedimentation.

(5) Providing for the protection of the natural, historic, cultural, and scenic character of the city or town or areas therein.

(6) Providing for the preservation and promotion of agricultural production, forest, silviculture, aquaculture, timber resources and open space.

(7) Providing for the protection of public investment in transportation, water, stormwater management systems, sewage treatment and disposal, solid waste treatment and disposal, schools, recreation, public facilities, open space, and other public requirements.

(8) Promoting a balance of housing choices, for all income levels and groups, to assure the health, safety and welfare of all citizens and their rights to affordable, accessible, safe and sanitary housing.

(9) Providing opportunities for the establishment of low and moderate income housing.

(10) Promoting safety from fire, flood, and other natural or man-made disasters.

(11) Promoting a high level of quality in design in the development of private and public facilities.

(12) Promoting implementation of the comprehensive plan of the city or town adopted pursuant to chapter 22.2 of this title.

(13) Providing for coordination of land uses with contiguous municipalities, other municipalities, the state and other agencies, as appropriate, especially with regard to resources and facilities that extend beyond municipal boundaries or have a direct impact on that municipality.

(14) Providing for efficient review of development proposals, to clarify and expedite the zoning approval process.

(15) Providing for procedures for the administration of the zoning ordinance, including, but not limited to, variances, special-use permits and, where adopted, procedures for modifications.

{ADD (16) Providing opportunities for reasonable accommodations in order to comply with the Rhode Island Fair Housing Practices Act, the United States Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (FHAA), the Rhode Island Civil Rights of Individuals with Handicaps Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). ADD}

45-24-33. Standard provisions. -- (A) A zoning ordinance shall address each of the purposes stated in section 45-24-30 and shall address the following general provisions which are numbered for reference purposes only:

(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 the 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:

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

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

(c) The density and intensity of use;

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

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

(f) Parking areas, road design, and where appropriate, pedestrian, bicycle, and other circulator systems;

(g) Landscaping, fencing, lighting;

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

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

(j) 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 promote 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, 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 which 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 such 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 such activities;

(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 said 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 such areas under 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 development from existing streets, including limiting the number, design and location of curb cuts, and for provisions of internal circulation systems for new development, and provisions for pedestrian and bicycle ways;

(22) Reducing unnecessary delay in approving or disapproving development applications, through provisions for pre-application conferences and other means;

{ADD (23) Providing for the application of the Rhode Island Fair Housing Practices Act, the United States Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (FHAA), the Rhode Island Civil Rights of Individuals with Handicaps Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). ADD}

(B) A zoning ordinance may include special provisions for any or all of the following:

(1) Authorizing development incentives, known as incentive zoning, for purposes of providing increases in the permitted use or dimension as a condition for, but not limited to:

(a) Increased open space;

(b) Increased housing choices;

(c) Traffic and pedestrian improvements;

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

(e) Other amenities as desired by the city or town and consistent with its comprehensive plan. Such 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 of 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 development adjacent to designated scenic highways, scenic waterways, major thoroughfares, public greenspaces, or other areas of special public investment or valuable natural resources.

45-24-37. General provisions -- Permitted uses. -- (1) The zoning ordinance shall provide a listing of all land uses and/or performance standards for uses which shall be permitted within the zoning use districts of the municipality.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the following uses shall be permitted uses within all residential zoning use districts of a municipality and all industrial and commercial zoning use districts except where residential use is prohibited for public health or safety reasons:

(a) Households;

(b) Community residences;

(c) Family day care homes.

{ADD (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, appropriate handicap access to residential structures shall be allowed as a reasonable accommodation for any person(s) residing, or intending to reside, in the residential structure. ADD}

45-24-41. General provisions -- Variances. -- (A) An application for relief from the literal requirements of a zoning ordinance because of hardship may be made by any person, group, agency or corporation by filing with the zoning enforcement officer or agency an application describing the request and supported by such data and evidence as may be required by the zoning board of review or by the terms of the ordinance. The zoning enforcement officer or agency shall immediately transmit each application received to the zoning board of review and shall transmit a copy of each application to the planning board or commission.

(B) A zoning ordinance shall provide that the zoning board of review, immediately upon receipt of an application for a variance in the application of the literal terms of the zoning ordinance, may request that the planning board or commission and/or staff shall report its findings and recommendations, including a statement on the general consistency of the application with the goals and purposes of the comprehensive plan of the city or town, in writing to the zoning board of review within thirty (30) days of receipt of the application from that board. The zoning board shall hold a public hearing on any application for variance in an expeditious manner, after receipt, in proper form, of an application, and shall give public notice thereof at least fourteen (14) days prior to the date of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the city or town. Notice of hearing shall be sent by first class mail to the applicant, and to at least all those who would require notice under section 45-24-53. The notice shall also include the street address of the subject property. A zoning ordinance may require supplemental notice that an application for a variance is under consideration be posted at the location in question. The posting shall be for information purposes only and shall not constitute required notice of a public hearing. The cost of notification shall be borne by the applicant.

(C) In granting a variance, the zoning board of review shall require that evidence to the satisfaction of the following standards be entered into the record of the proceedings:

(1) That the hardship from which the applicant seeks relief is due to the unique characteristics of the subject land or structure and not to the general characteristics of the surrounding area; and is not due to a physical or economic disability of the applicant{ADD , excepting hereto those physical disabilities addressed in section 45-24-30(16) herein ADD} ;

(2) That the hardship is not the result of any prior action of the applicant and does not result primarily from the desire of the applicant to realize greater financial gain;

(3) That the granting of the requested variance will not alter the general character of the surrounding area or impair the intent or purpose of the zoning ordinance or the comprehensive plan upon which the ordinance is based; and

(4) That the relief to be granted is the least relief necessary.

(D) The zoning board of review shall, in addition to the above standards, require that evidence be entered into the record of the proceedings showing that (1) in granting a use variance the subject land or structure cannot yield any beneficial use if it is required to conform to the provisions of the zoning ordinance. Nonconforming use of neighboring land or structures in the same district and permitted use of lands or structures in an adjacent district shall not be considered in granting a use variance; and (2) in granting a dimensional variance, that the hardship that will be suffered by the owner of the subject property if the dimensional variance is not granted shall amount to more than a mere inconvenience, which shall mean that there is no other reasonable alternative to enjoy a legally permitted beneficial use of one's property. The fact that a use may be more profitable or that a structure may be more valuable after the relief is granted shall not be grounds for relief.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.