[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of
the Town of Portsmouth 6-4-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-06-04. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
The purpose of growth management is to equitably
allocate a limited number of new residential building permits over
time, so as to minimize the burden on existing facilities and resources,
whose adequacy is essential to the public health, safety and welfare,
and in a manner which is consistent with the Portsmouth Comprehensive
Community Plan. It is the intent of this chapter to allow controlled
growth in relation to the existing and future capacity of Town facilities
and the School District.
The Town Council, Planning Board, Town staff
and consultants have conducted a study to develop a growth management
program as called for in the Comprehensive Community Plan. The study
is entitled "Town of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, Growth Management Program"
and was adopted by the Town Council on June 4, 2001. The Town Council
finds that this study, together with the footnotes and sources, establishes
the basis for the Town's Growth Management Program and is incorporated
herein by reference.
[Amended 12-20-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-12-20]
Issuance of building permits authorizing creation
of one or more dwelling units, as defined by the Portsmouth Zoning
Ordinance,[1] through new construction or change of use shall be allowed only under the procedures and requirements set forth herein. A permit is equivalent to a dwelling unit. Applicants for such residential building permits shall be authorized to proceed in the manner specified herein and in accordance with the priority assigned to them. The total number of dwelling units authorized to begin construction in any quarter shall not exceed the calculated quota as established in § 299-4 of this chapter; provided, however, that notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, for the last quarter of the calendar year 2001 (October 1 to December 31), the Building Official may issue 23 permits, provided that there shall be an offsetting reduction in the permits available to be issued in the first quarter of calendar year 2002 (January 1 to March 31). The quota for the first quarter of 2002 shall be six less than would otherwise be allowed by the quota guidelines established herein.
There shall be a finite number of residential
building permits for each quarter of each year. A "quarter" is defined
as a three-month period that begins on the first day of January, April,
July or October. From the date of adoption by the Town Council of
this chapter to December 31, 2001, the total number of such permits
shall be the sum of 68 minus the number of permits already issued
from January 1, 2001, to the date of adoption. Thereafter, the number
of residential permits to be issued shall be limited in accordance
with the following formula:
|
Total permits per quarter = the currently available
seats within the Portsmouth School District, plus any increase of
seats that the Town of Portsmouth may provide for through new construction
of school facilities over the next 10 years, commencing with January
1, 2001 ÷ (divided by) 0.6239 ÷ (divided by) 40.
|
A.
Initially, it has been determined by the Town Council, based upon studies conducted pursuant to the Comprehensive Plan and studies cited in § 299-2, along with data supplied by the Portsmouth School Department, the Town's present capacity for additional dwelling units is based on the following:
|
1999 total capacity
|
3,331
| |
|
2000/2001 enrollment
|
2,917
| |
|
Existing excess capacity
|
414
| |
|
Divided by 0.6239
|
663 dwellings
| |
|
Divided by 40 quarters
|
17 permits (rounded up)
|
B.
No more than 17 permits shall be issued as of the
first two quarters following the adoption of this chapter.
Following the method established in § 299-5, the calculation of the formula for the third and all subsequent quarters shall be performed by the Building Official (or Alternate Building Official) and shall be submitted to the Town Council, the Planning Board and posted in the office of the Town Clerk not less than 30 days prior to the commencement of the quarter for which the quota is to be applied. To assist the Building Official in his/her calculation, the Building Official shall request, in writing, that the Superintendent of Schools supply him/her the number of available seats in the School District based on the current capacity less the actual enrollment as of October 1 of the school calendar year, and the increase in seat capacity, projected from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2011, based upon any adopted plan of the School Department. The Building Official shall monitor the School Department's overall capacity by checking with the Superintendent of Schools every first day of February, March, August, and November to determine if there are any changes in available seats. If there are no changes, the Building Official shall notify the Town Clerk that the number of permits to be issued the next quarter will be the same as the previous quarter. If there are changes in seats, the Building Official shall recalculate the quota and notify the Town Clerk of the new number of permits to be issued the next quarter. Notwithstanding any changes, the quota shall not change in the middle of any given quarter.
For the purposes of this chapter, the effective
date shall be the date of its enactment. Any application for a building
permit creating one or more additional dwelling units submitted after
the effective date of this chapter shall be subject to the review
procedures set forth herein. Permit applications submitted before
the effective date of this chapter shall not be subject to any of
the quota limitations of this chapter. This chapter shall supersede
any and all ordinances inconsistent herewith.
A.
The following types of dwellings shall not be subject
to the provisions of this chapter with regard to the calculated quota.
These dwellings have been determined to have no or minimal impact
upon the Town's capacity or provide positive benefits to the Town
which are consistent with the Comprehensive Community Plan.
B.
The Building Official shall accept applications for
construction of the dwellings listed below and shall act upon them
without regard to the quotas, priority determination and procedures
as set forth in this chapter. All such permits issued shall be considered
to be issued in addition to the calculated quota provisions of this
chapter. Complete applications for construction of dwelling units
so authorized shall be granted permits within the time limits prescribed
in the Rhode Island State Building Code, regardless of the availability
of permits within the quota.
(2)
Elderly housing: dwellings which would contribute
to meeting the year-round housing needs of elderly and disabled citizens
through enforceable restrictions limiting occupancy to households
whose members are 62 years of age or older.
(3)
Retired adult communities: planned developments for
retired citizens, with amenities, established through publicly enforceable
restrictions limiting occupancy to residents whose members are 55
years of age or older.
(4)
Multifamily dwellings: multifamily dwellings having
zero-bedroom (studio) or one-bedroom units and which do not exceed
a total of 800 square feet of floor area per dwelling unit.
(6)
Community residences: any community residence as defined
by R.I.G.L. § 45-24-31.
(7)
Hog Island. Any buildings on Hog Island are exempt
from this chapter.
(8)
Exempt by Town Council action. The Town Council may,
upon application, grant an exemption for individual mixed-use developments
which it determines will have a positive net financial impact on the
Town. Such developments must be in the Enterprise Zone. Town Council
may impose conditions on such exemptions as needed to help ensure
a positive net financial impact on the Town.
[Added 8-12-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-08-12]
Building permits shall be issued by the Building
Official up to the maximum number permitted by the applicable calculated
quota, in the order of priority assigned below. In the event of a
tie, priority shall go to the application with the earlier date and
time of the submission of a complete application.
A.
The first priority shall be given to applications
for construction of low- and moderate-income housing. "Low- or moderate-income
housing" means any housing subsidized by the federal or state government
under any program to assist the construction or rehabilitation of
low- or moderate-income housing, as defined in the applicable federal
or state statute, whether built or operated by any public agency or
any nonprofit organization or by any limited equity housing cooperative
or any private developer. Entities eligible are any public agency,
nonprofit organization or limited equity housing cooperative proposing
to build or rehabilitate low- or moderate-income housing or any private
developer proposing low- or moderate-income rental housing which will
remain as low- and moderate-income housing for a period of not less
than 30 years from initial occupancy. Projects are eligible if sponsored
by an eligible entity and are eligible and approved for a subsidy
from the state or federal government under any program to assist the
construction or rehabilitation of low- and moderate-income housing
and have at least the minimum number of units reserved for low- or
moderate-income housing as defined by the program providing the subsidy
or 25% of the total number of units reserved for low- or moderate-income
housing, whichever is greater.
B.
The second priority shall be given to any single-family
residence containing amenities built into the structure of the home
as set forth in Rhode Island State Building Code Section 14, which
are necessary to accommodate the physical disability of the owner
or member of the owner's immediate family residing therein. In order
to quality for this priority, the applicant or property owner must
submit a sworn statement attesting that the premises will be occupied
by a person with physical disabilities and a deed restriction, in
recordable form, restricting the property from being sold or transferred
for a period of two years next subsequent to the issuance of the certificate
of occupancy.
[Added 12-20-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-12-20]
C.
The third priority shall be given to applications
for construction of a new single-family detached dwelling, provided
that the applicant owned the lot to be built before the effective
date of this chapter; or the lot to be built upon was subdivided from
a larger parcel before the effective date of this chapter. This priority
level shall not apply:
[Amended 12-20-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-12-20]
(1)
If the applicant has previously received a permit
for a new single-family detached dwelling in Portsmouth; or
(2)
The lot to be built upon was under common ownership
with a lot or parcel that has previously received a building permit
for a new single-family detached dwelling in Portsmouth within two
years prior to the date of application.
D.
The fourth priority shall be given to applicants whose
application for construction of a dwelling has been denied for four
consecutive quarters because of the provisions of this chapter.
[Amended 12-20-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-12-20]
E.
The fifth priority shall be given to applicants whose
property is under the jurisdiction of the Coastal Zone Management
Council (CRMC).
[Amended 12-20-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-12-20]
F.
The remainder of the quota shall be issued to any
other applications in the order of complete applications received.
A.
Applications for building permits for construction
of one or more dwelling units shall be submitted to the Building Official,
who shall adhere to the following procedure in reviewing and issuing
permits:
(1)
Completeness. The Building Official shall, upon receipt
of an application submitted, examine the application, plans and all
materials for completeness, which shall include all plans and materials
required for a building permit under the applicable provisions of
the Zoning Ordinance[1] and the Rhode Island State Building Code. If said application,
plans and materials are complete, the Building Official shall stamp
it, indicating the date and time of official receipt by the Town.
(2)
Incomplete applications. If the application is incomplete
and does not contain all plans and materials as required by the Zoning
Ordinance[2] and the Rhode Island State Building Code, the application,
plans and materials shall be returned to the applicant, within 15
days, who will be informed by the Building Official what is missing
from the submission in order to qualify as a complete application.
(3)
When a permit is ready to be issued, the Building
Official shall notify the applicant by certified mail, return receipt
required, and the applicant shall have 60 days from receipt of said
notice in which to pay any fees due and obtain the building permit.
Any applicant that does not pay for and obtain said building permit
within such sixty-day period shall forfeit his/her/its position on
the quota list and shall be required to complete a new application,
which shall be placed on the bottom of the quota list at such time
as the new application is complete.
[Added 12-20-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-12-20]
B.
The Building Official shall not issue permits for any dwelling units in excess of the quota, unless such units are exempt as provided in § 299-8. The Building Official shall keep track of all permits issued plus complete applications submitted during the most recent quarter, beginning with the effective date of this chapter. If, within any quarter, the number exceeds the quota, additional building permits shall no longer be issued. Applications for additional permits shall be accumulated for action at the beginning of the next quarter and shall be prioritized and issued under the ensuing quarter.
C.
At the beginning of the next quarter, the Building
Official shall add the total number of complete applications on file
to the total number of permits issued during the previous three quarters.
In the event that the resulting sum (current quarter applications
plus the previous three quarters' accumulation) is fewer than the
annual quota as defined herein, accumulated permits shall be issued
up to the quarterly quota limit, and new applications may be processed
to such limit. In the event that the resulting sum exceeds the annual
quota, the accumulated permits shall not be issued, and no further
permits shall be issued for that quarter.
D.
The accumulation of applications may continue from one quarter to the next and permits issued within the limitations described in Subsection C above. Under no circumstances shall the number of building permits, other than those exempt dwellings, exceed the annual quota.
E.
In the event that the number of building permits issued
in any one year does not reach the annual quota, there shall be no
carryover of permits to the following year.
A.
In order to assure that permits for residential building
construction are equitably distributed among all qualified applicants,
no more than five building permits for dwelling units shall be granted
to either any single applicant (including any related entity as defined
below) or to any owner (including any related entity) of any single
subdivision or land development project within any quarter if doing
so would result in denial of a permit for any other applicant.
B.
"Related entity" means, with respect to a specific
person, group of people, or corporation ("party"):
Any decision by the Building Official to carry
out the purposes of this chapter may be taken by an aggrieved party
to the Zoning Board of Review. The appeal shall be taken within 20
days following an action by the Building Official to enforce the provisions
of this chapter and shall specify the grounds for such appeal. The
Building Official shall forthwith transmit to the Zoning Board of
Review all the papers constituting the record upon which the action
appealed from was taken. Notice of the appeal shall also be transmitted
to the Planning Board. The procedure for any appeal, including a public
hearing, shall be in accordance with Article XIV of the Zoning Ordinance.[1]
This chapter shall expire on December 31, 2011,
and shall be reviewed for applicability by the Planning Board no later
than December 31, 2006.
