[Ord. No. 02-11A, § 1, 5-1-2002; Ord. No. 03-43, § 1, 1-7-2004]
The purpose of this article is to equitably allocate a limited
number of new residential building permits over the effective duration
of this ordinance, 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 Cumberland
Comprehensive Community Plan. It is the intent of this ordinance to
correlate the timing and intensity of land development to the availability
of existing and future public services and facilities.
[Ord. No. 02-11A, § 2, 5-1-2002; Ord. No. 03-23, § 2, 6-4-2003; Ord. No. 03-43, § 1, 1-7-2004]
(a)
The Mayor, the planning department, the school department, liaisons
from various Town boards and commissions, representatives of various
public interest groups, and growth management consultants have conducted
and continue to conduct studies and various public workshops to develop
a phased growth management program, consistent with the comprehensive
community plan. The Town Council finds that such studies and planning
initiatives, establish the basis for this article, as amended, which
is the first phase of a growth management program, and as such all
are incorporated herein by reference.
(b)
In addition, the Town Council finds that such studies underscore
the on-going efforts to continue with a second phase of studies and
workshops necessary to implement the second phase of the growth management
program which shall include but not be limited to the continued study
and consideration of:
[Ord. No. 02-11A, § 3, 5-1-2002; Ord. No. 03-23, § 3, 6-4-2003; Ord. No. 03-43, § 1, 1-7-2004]
Issuance of building permits authorizing creation of one or
more dwelling units, as defined by the Cumberland Zoning Ordinance,
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
beginning on June 15, 2003, shall not exceed 25 permits per quarter
during the duration of this article.
[Ord. No. 02-11A, § 4, 5-1-2002; Ord. No. 03-23, § 4, 6-4-2003; Ord. No. 03-43, § 1, 1-7-2004]
On or before the end of the second quarter as above-referenced
(April 15, 2004), the planning and building departments shall issue
a written report detailing the issuance of permits, exemptions and
an analysis of data regarding the ratio of school-age children per
specific type of residential dwelling units. Based upon said reports,
the Town Council may adjust the quota for the remaining two quarters
of the effective term hereof.
[Ord. No. 02-11A, § 5, 5-1-2002; Ord. No. 03-43, § 1, 1-7-2004]
For the purposes of this article, 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 Ordinance No. 03-43 shall be subject to the review procedures
set forth herein. Permit applications submitted before the effective
date of Ordinance No. 03-43 shall not be subject to any of the quota
limitations of this article. This article shall supercede any and
all ordinances inconsistent herewith. This article shall also supersede
the resolution (R-07) dated February 20, 2002, with regard to nonconforming
lots.
[Ord. No. 02-11A, § 6, 5-1-2002; Ord. No. 02-37, § 1, 11-6-2002; Ord. No. 03-23, § 6, 6-4-2003; Ord. No. 03-43, § 1, 1-7-2004]
(a)
An applicant for a building permit to construct the following types
of dwellings may apply to the Building Official for an exemption to
the provisions of this article with regard to the calculated quota.
These dwellings have been determined in most circumstances to have
minimal impacts upon the Town's educational and public works infrastructure
and/or result in other benefits to the Town which are consistent with
the comprehensive community plan.
(b)
In the event an exemption is granted pursuant to an application for
an exemption, 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 article. All such permits shall be considered
to be issued in addition to the calculated quota provisions of this
article. 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.
(1)
Accessory family dwelling unit, as defined in the zoning ordinance
[Appendix B of this volume].
(2)
Community residence: Any community residence as defined in G.L.
§ 45-24-31.
(3)
Exigent circumstances wherein an existing dwelling unit has
been destroyed by some act of nature.
(4)
An applicant seeking a building permit for the construction
of a multi-household dwelling consisting of five or more units or
a planned development must seek an exemption from the Town Council.
The Town Council may only grant an exemption with regard to a planned
unit development that has previously received zoning and Planning
Board approval and upon the presentation of a fiscal impact assessment
that is found to be satisfactory to the Town Council. A fiscal impact
assessment shall include:
a.
Costs arising from increased demands for public services and
infrastructure.
b.
Benefits from increased tax revenues, employment and value of
public infrastructure to be provided.
c.
Impact of proposed development on the values of adjoining properties.
d.
Five-year projection of increased Town revenues and costs resulting
from the proposed development.
(5)
Low and moderate income housing: Up to 10 units annually of
newly constructed affordable housing, as defined in G.L. § 45-53-3,
in accordance with the Town's housing element of the comprehensive
plan as adopted by the state on October 6, 2003.
[Ord. No. 02-11A, § 7, 5-1-2002; Ord. No. 03-43, § 1, 1-7-2004]
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.
(1)
a.
The first priority shall be given to applications for construction
of a new single-family detached dwelling provided that:
b.
This priority level shall not apply:
1.
If the applicant has previously received a permit for a new
single-family detached dwelling in Cumberland within two years prior
to the date of the application; 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 Cumberland within two years prior
to the date of application.
(2)
The second construction of a dwelling has been denied for two consecutive
quarters because of the provisions of this article.
(3)
The remainder of the quota shall be issued to any other applications
in the order of complete applications received.
[Ord. No. 02-11A, § 8, 5-1-2002; Ord. No. 03-23, § 8, 6-4-2003; Ord. No. 03-43, § 1, 1-7-2004]
(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 [Appendix B of this volume] 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. Upon the filing of an application, the applicant shall
execute an acknowledgment in the form provided by the Building Official,
listing those submissions that are required for a complete application.
Completeness shall not be determined until the application is returned
to the Building Official after being routed to all applicable departments
for review.
(2)
Incomplete applications. If the application is incomplete and
does not contain all plans and materials as required by the zoning
ordinance and the Rhode Island State Building Code, the applications,
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.
Said fifteen-day period shall begin when the application is returned
to the Building Official after review by all applicable departments.
(3)
Period to take permit before lapse. In the event a permit is
issued by the Building Official, the applicant has 10 days to take
the permit from the Building Official's office or the permit shall
lapse for the purposes of this article.
(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 § 30-176. 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 article. The recording shall be maintained for public review. 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 fourth quarter (April 15, 2004), 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 be issued up to the quota 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 be 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.
[Ord. No. 02-11A, § 9, 5-1-2002; Ord. No. 03-43, § 1, 1-7-2004]
(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. Notwithstanding,
no more than five building permits for dwelling units shall be granted
to either any single application or owner, as defined above, during
the first 60 days of a quarter.
(b)
"Related entity" means: with respect to a specific person, group
of people, or corporation ("party"):
[Ord. No. 02-11A, § 10, 5-1-2002; Ord. No. 03-43, § 1, 1-7-2004]
Any decision by the Building Official to carry out the purposes
of this article may be appealed 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
article 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 9 of the zoning ordinance
[Appendix B of this volume].
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 30-181, which pertained
to the expiration date of this article, adopted 5-1-2002 by Ord. No.
02-11A, as amended, was repealed 1-7-2004 by Ord. No. 03-43.
