Town of Coventry, RI Chapter 106 Building Regulations

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Coventry 11-12-1991 by Ord. No. 9-91-0181 as Ch. 5, Art. I, of the 1991 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Numbering of buildings — See Ch. 109.

Affordable housing — See Ch. 139.

Subdivision of land — See Ch. 213.

§ 106-1 Moving of buildings.

No building of any kind shall be moved over, along or upon any public street or highway in the Town unless the mover first notifies the Chief of Police of the proposed move and arranges for the services of the police, when in the judgment of the Chief of Police such services are necessary. The mover shall pay for the services of any special policeman assigned for such purpose by the Chief of Police.

§ 106-2 Erection of quonset huts or similar buildings.

No person shall erect or cause to be erected or placed upon any land in the Town any quonset-type hut or similar building without first obtaining the permission of the Town Council.

§ 106-3 Board of Appeals; fee for appeal.

A. The present members of the Zoning Board of Review of the Town and any lawfully appointed successor to such members are hereby appointed to the Board of Appeals pursuant to the building code of the state and shall have all of the duties and powers thereof and shall perform all duties and obligations as may be required by the building code of the state.

B. An applicant making an appeal to the Zoning Board of Review pursuant to this section and the state building code shall remit a nonrefundable fee as set forth in Chapter 122, Fees, to the Town Clerk upon the filing of such appeal.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).

§ 106-4 Schedule of permit fees.

The schedule of fees for all building permits is not printed herein, but a complete schedule of all fees is on file in the Building Official's office.

§ 106-5 Conditions for issuance of building permits for certain subdivisions.

[Amended 2-10-1992 by Ord. No. 2-92-0184]

A. Responsibility of Building Inspector. The Building Inspector of the Town is charged with the responsibility for issuance and denial of building permits.

B. Protection of public health, safety and welfare. There is an urgency to protect the public health, safety and welfare by ensuring that completion of all subdivisions is guaranteed by fiscally solvent bonds.

C. Issuance of certain building permits for new construction secured by bonds. The Building Inspector is hereby ordered not to issue any further building permits for new construction in a subdivision secured by a bond, the guarantor of which is insolvent, defunct or closed institution, until and unless the developer and/or contractor replaces the bond with another guarantee suitable to the Town Planning Commission or completes the infrastructure of the development to the satisfaction of the Town Engineer. The term "infrastructure," as used in this subsection, does not include sidewalks for purposes of determining whether a building permit may be issued, but shall include sidewalks for purposes of bonding requirements.

§ 106-6 Fair share development fees.

[Amended 3-26-2001 by Ord. No. 2-01-0224; 5-13-2002 by Ord. No. 2-02-0229; 9-13-2010 by Ord. No. 02-10-280]

A. Authority. Rhode Island General Laws Title 45, Chapter 45-22.4-1 et seq., authorizes cities and towns to impose development impact fees. The purposes of such impact fees is to ensure that adequate public facilities are available to serve new growth and development; to ensure that new growth and development does not place an undue financial burden upon existing taxpayers; and to promote orderly growth and development by imposing upon new development a proportionate fair share of the cost of new and/or upgraded public facilities needed to serve new growth and development within the community.

B. Intent. The fees established in this section are consistent with and intended to assist in the implementation of the Town's Comprehensive Community Plan. It is the intent of this section to regulate the use and development of land so as to ensure that new development bears a proportionate share of expenses related to capital improvements for public facilities. Said public facilities include roads, streets, and bridges; stormwater collection, retention, detention, treatment and disposal facilities; flood control improvements; parks, open space and recreation facilities; police facilities; public school facilities; library facilities; and other public facilities consistent with the Town's capital improvement program. The findings set forth in the Fair Share Development Fee Report sets forth a reasonable methodology and analysis for the determination of the impact fees on new residential development and are adopted herewith.

C. Definitions. As used in this section, the following words have the meanings stated herein:

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM

The component of a municipal budget that sets out the need for public facility capital improvements, the cost of the proposed improvements, and proposed funding sources. A capital improvement program must cover at least a five-year period and should be reviewed at least every five years.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS

Improvements with a useful life of 10 years or more which increase or improve the service capacity of existing, proposed or future public facilities.

DEVELOPER

A person or legal entity undertaking development.

DEVELOPMENT

Includes but is not limited to major residential subdivisions, minor residential subdivisions and all land development projects having a residential component.

FAIR SHARE DEVELOPMENT FEE

Which shall also mean "impact fee," shall be any charge imposed upon any new or expanded development by the Town of Coventry to fund all or a portion of a public facility's capital improvements affected by new development from which it is collected.

PROPORTIONATE SHARE

That portion of the cost of improvements which reasonably relates to the service demands and needs of the project.

PUBLIC FACILITIES

(1) Roads, streets, bridges, including rights-of-way, traffic signals and devices, landscaping and local components of state and federal highways;

(2) Stormwater collection, retention, detention, treatment and disposal facilities, flood control facilities and enhancement improvements;

(3) Parks, open space areas and recreation facilities;

(4) Police, emergency management and public safety facilities;

(5) Public schools;

(6) Libraries; and

(7) Other public facilities consistent with the Town's capital improvement program.

D. Imposition of fair share development fee, also known as "impact fees."

(1) Any person or legal entity applying for any building permit after the effective date of this section which creates an additional residential dwelling unit is hereby required to pay a fair share development fee, also known as an "impact fee," in the manner and amount set forth in this section.

(2) Said fee shall be paid in full prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy or other final action authorizing the intended use of a structure.

[Amended 6-27-2016 by Ord. No. 04-16-310]

E. Calculation of the fair share development fee, also known as the "impact fee."

(1) The fair share development fee is $5,854 per residential dwelling unit. In support thereof, the Town conducted a needs assessment as more fully set forth in the Fair Share Development Fee Report.

[Amended 12-7-2020 by Ord. No. 12-20-339]

(2) The amount of the fair share development fee may be reviewed and amended from time to time as determined necessary by the Town Council.

(3) The fair share development fee shall be reasonably related to new developments' share of the costs of infrastructure improvements necessitated by the new development. Said costs shall represent public facility expansion or improvements or reasonable estimates of the costs of expansion or improvements to be incurred by the Town.

(4) The fees per residential dwelling unit shall be apportioned as follows:

[Amended 12-7-2020 by Ord. No. 12-20-339]

(a) Law enforcement: $1,171.

(b) Parks and recreation: $878.

(c) Human services: $117.

(d) Public works: $1,464.

(e) Public schools: $1,756.

(f) Government center/library expansion: $176.

(g) Sewers: $117.

(h) Other public facilities: $175.

(i) Total: $5,854.

F. Exemptions. The following shall be exempted from payment of the fair share development fee:

(1) Fees shall not be imposed for remodeling, rehabilitation or other improvements to an existing structure when the use is not changed.

(2) Fees shall not be imposed for the construction of accessory buildings or structures which do not increase the number of residential dwelling units on the property.

(3) Fees shall not be imposed for the rebuilding of a destroyed or partially destroyed building or structure which does not increase the number of former residential units on the property.

(4) Fees shall not be imposed upon one residential dwelling unit per lot of record. As used in this subsection, a "lot of record" is a lot which was legally created and recorded prior to September 25, 2000.

(5) The payment of the public schools portion of the fair share development fee shall be deferred for housing for older person. "Housing for older persons" shall mean dwelling units that are permanently restricted for occupancy by at least one person over the age of 55 years. Satisfactory evidence of the restriction shall be attached to the building permit application. In the event that the housing which qualifies for this deferment is later acquired by a person, persons or legal entity who does not meet the age requirements for this subsection, the portion of the fair share development fee attributable to public schools shall be assessed and collected at such time.

(6) Any Town of Coventry resident who has resided in the Town for a minimum of 10 years shall be exempt from the fees for a maximum of two dwelling units, provided that satisfactory evidence shall be attached to the building permit application demonstrating that said dwelling units are being conveyed to a relative of the ten-year resident. A "relative," for purposes of this subsection, shall mean a grandparent, parent, child, grandchild, brother or sister.

G. Collection and expenditure of fair share development fees.

(1) There is hereby established a separate capital facilities impact fee trust fund to be administered by the Finance Director. All funds collected shall be properly identified and promptly deposited in a special proprietary fund, which shall be invested in government-insured or government-backed instruments only, with all interest accruing to the trust fund and used solely for the purposes specified in this section.

(2) Within eight years of the date of collection, impact fees shall be expended or encumbered for the construction of public facilities capital improvements of reasonable benefit to the development paying the fees and that are consistent with the capital improvement program.

(3) Where the expenditure or encumbrance of fees is not feasible within eight years, the Town may retain impact fees for a longer period of time if there are compelling reasons for the longer period. In no case shall impact fees be retained longer than 12 years.

(4) Funds withdrawn from this trust fund/account shall be spent solely to acquire, construct, expand and/or improve capital improvement facilities identified in this section.

(5) The Town may accept the dedication of land or the construction of public facilities in lieu of the payment of all or a portion of the fair share development fees.

(6) The Town may recoup costs of excess capacity in existing capital facilities where the excess capacity has been provided in anticipation of the needs of new development in order to cover that portion of the facilities constructed for future users. Said facilities include the Town Hall Annex, the Human Services Department and Parks and Recreation facilities.

H. Notice to future homeowners.

(1) In the instance of a subdivision or land development project, notice of the imposition of fair share development fees shall be provided on the record plan. Said plan shall be recorded in the land evidence records of the Town of Coventry.

(2) In all instances where a parcel of real estate (vacant or developed) is sold to a new owner prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy, the seller of the real property shall provide written notice of the fees to the new owner on or before the date in which the parties enter into a purchase and sales agreement.

I. Alternative means of satisfying assessments for subdivisions and land development projects.

(1) In the event of a subdivision or land development project, the applicant may, upon the request of the Planning Commission, agree to satisfy the assessments in the following manner in lieu of payment of a particular fee: dedication of land, performance of construction services, purchase of equipment, payment of fee or any combination thereof. The total value of the applicant's contribution shall not be less than the amount of the particular projected fee involved. If the applicant uses alternative means to satisfy a particular fee, the alternative means cannot partially satisfy the projected fee involved; the particular fee must be entirely satisfied. The value of the applicant's contribution and scope of work shall be determined by the Planning Commission, upon the recommendation of the Town Engineer. The Planning Commission shall document the value of the applicant's contribution. A copy thereof shall be placed and maintained in the Department of Planning and Development's file for the particular subdivision or land development project.

(2) In the event that construction services are performed by the applicant or on its behalf, the applicant shall adhere to Town specifications for construction and development. Inspections by Town staff shall be conducted at key points in the construction and development process. In no case shall said inspections be less than those required for road construction, as outlined elsewhere in the Subdivision and Land Development Regulations. A schedule for inspections shall be agreed to between Town staff and the applicant.

J. Annual review. After collaboration with the departments who are apportioned a share of the fees, the Finance Director shall present an annual report to the Town Council on the status of any fair share development fees collected by the Town. The report shall be presented to the Town Council prior to the adoption of the Capital Improvement Plan. The report shall specify the amount of the fees collected, how the monies were expended and whether there are any anticipated expenditures in the future.