[Amended 1-25-2024]
The design of all subdivisions, land development projects, and Development Plan Review projects shall conform to the Town of Cumberland Zoning Ordinance and Land Development and Subdivision Regulations as written herein. The Planning Board has established the elements contained in these Regulations as minimum design standards. The Planning Board and Administrative Officer reserves the right to determine lot/unit location and number of lots created by subdivision and land development projects in accordance with these Regulations and the Zoning Ordinance. The Planning Board or Administrative Officer may raise or lower these standards upon a site visit and/or review of the proposed plan, if they feel in doing so that adequate provisions have been/must be made in the plan for the following:
1.
To lessen traffic accidents;
2.
To develop land in recognition of primary natural constraints (slopes 15%, rock out-crops and wetlands);
3.
To promote safety from fire, flood and other dangers;
4.
To secure a well articulated street and highway system;
5.
To ensure adequate provisions for pedestrian traffic;
6.
To secure an adequate stormwater runoff management and soil erosion plan;
7.
To preserve significant natural and historic characteristics;
8.
To provide adequate public water and sanitary sewage treatment;
9.
To provide a recreation area suitable for future use; and
10.
To promote development in conformance with the Comprehensive Plan.
The applicant, at his/her own expense, shall construct all improvements where required by the Planning Board or Administrative Officer as a condition of approval for any subdivision or land development project subject to these Regulations.
Depending on a property's location, the styles and patterns of development are different, and therefore, the application of these standards will necessarily depend upon the surrounding area in which development is proposed.
Reminder: All applications subject to these Regulations, regardless of whether they involve the construction of a new street or development of a single existing lot, must conform with the Town's Zoning Ordinance and any other applicable Town Ordinances and Regulations.
To the maximum extent practicable, development should be located to preserve the natural features of the site, to avoid areas of environmental sensitivity, and to minimize alterations of and negative impacts to natural features, historic and cultural resources, and scenic areas. A Site Analysis that considers both the existing natural and built context as described below should be conducted as part of the conceptual site planning process.
New development or redevelopment shall incorporate characteristics of the surrounding area when the area exhibits a positive site layout and/or functional patterns (e.g., buildings close to street, shared parking and access, and generous landscaping); otherwise, the Planning Board will look to the applicant to improve the area with his/her proposal and not further degrade an area.
A Site Analysis.tif
(a) 
Natural Context.
1. 
Building envelopes shall be located so that character-defining site features such as stone walls, open fields, stands of mature trees, rolling topography (especially slopes in excess of 15%), ridgelines and outcrops, wetlands, streams, rivers, ponds and lakes, and listed historic and natural resources are preserved.
2. 
Structures shall not be placed on ridgelines or hillcrests. These areas are potentially erosive, may negatively impact drainage patterns and because they will be highly visible, will adversely impact the character of neighborhoods and scenic, natural viewsheds.
3. 
Development should take advantage of natural solar irradiation through southern exposure and design features in order to reduce energy usage and increase connections to the surrounding environment. Vegetation, berms, and shade structures should be used to provide warmer areas during winter and cooler areas during summer.
4. 
Green spaces shall be contiguous whenever possible, rather than divided into smaller areas.
5. 
Utilize the space between buildings as viable "outdoor rooms" which can function as pedestrian transition areas, provide building connections and project coherence.
A Application of Site Analysis New Use.tif
(b) 
Built Context. Existing design, details such as form, type and texture of materials, balance, symmetry/asymmetry, natural factors, pedestrian circulation, access, and connections should be respected. Continuity of positive aspects of the nearby architectural style and other elements of the built environment will be the primary focus of the review process.
1. 
Placement of buildings shall consider the location of nearby compatible and incompatible uses, traffic corridors, vegetation, and other existing site characteristics. Where adjacent setbacks are inconsistent, an attempt shall be made to moderate them. If this is not possible, vegetation, walls and other landscape features shall be used to continue the rhythm of the built environment.
A Sample Cond Mod of Inconsistent Setbacks.tif
2. 
In densely developed areas, such as the historic centers of Valley Falls, Lonsdale and Berkeley, buildings should generally be placed adjacent to the sidewalk or at their front setback lines in order to enliven the street. This siting, in combination with landscape treatment, reinforces and strengthens the streetscape and facilitates pedestrian activity.
3. 
Multiple buildings in a single development should create a positive functional relationship. Buildings should be clustered to achieve a village feel. This creates opportunities for plazas and pedestrian areas while preventing long "barracklike" rows of buildings. When clustering is impractical, a visual and/or landscape linkage shall be established.
4. 
When adjacent residential and non-residential uses can mutually profit from connection rather than separation, applicable connective elements such as walkways, common landscape areas, shared driveways, building orientation, and unfenced property lines shall be employed.
[Amended 1-25-2024]
Land deemed unsuitable for building purposes in the judgment of the Planning Board, will not be approved for development or subdivision.
(1) 
Developments Serviced by Sewers. When calculating the number of residential building lots or units permitted on any parcel in an area serviced by sewers, land included in all of the following categories shall be considered unsuitable for development and shall be deducted from the building acreage of the parcel:
a. 
Freshwater wetlands, except areas of perimeter wetland within 50 feet of the edge of any bog, marsh, swamp or pond; or any applicable 100-foot or 200-foot riverbank wetlands, as defined by R.I.G.L. § 2-I-20 (1987), as amended;
b. 
Areas within a 100-year flood zones, as defined by FEMA;
c. 
Land within any publicly or privately held easement on which aboveground utilities, including, but not limited to, electrical transmission lines, are constructed;
d. 
Cemeteries.
(2) 
Developments Not Serviced by Sewers. In areas not served by public sewers land included in all of the following categories shall be considered unsuitable for development and shall be deducted from the building acreage of the parcel:
a. 
Freshwater wetlands including areas of perimeter wetland within 50 feet of the edge of any bog, marsh, swamp or pond; or any applicable one-hundred-foot or two-hundred-foot riverbank wetlands, as defined by Rhode Island General Law as § 2-I-20 (1987), as amended;
b. 
Areas within a one-hundred-year flood zone, as defined by FEMA;
c. 
Land within any publicly or privately held easement on which aboveground utilities, including but not limited to electrical transmission lines, are constructed;
d. 
Areas with slopes in excess of 15% within the limit of disturbance of the subdivision; and
e. 
Cemeteries.
(3) 
Minimum Contiguous Buildable Areas. Lots shall have minimum contiguous buildable areas (excluding wetlands, floodplains, easements, and steep slopes as further described above) equal to the following:
Zoning District
Minimum Contiguous Buildable Area
(square feet)
Agricultural-1
80,000
Agricultural-2
40,000
All unsewered residential zones
20,000
Residential-1, sewered
12,500
Residential-2 and Residential -3, sewered
5,000
All commercial and industrial, sewered
5,000
All commercial and industrial, unsewered
20,000
The following requirements shall apply to any plat which is located wholly or partly within Zone A and Zones A1-A30 as identified on the flood insurance rate map as part of the flood insurance study which also includes the flood boundary and floodway map. Said maps and any amendments thereto are hereby made part of this section of these Regulations.
(1) 
All submissions shall show the location of any portion of the plat which lies within any Zone A or Zones A1-A30 and the floodway and shall show the base flood elevation as prescribed for these zones at the specific location. Where the plat location is entirely within these zones, it shall be noted on the plat drawing.
(2) 
In grading land and installing improvements, no watercourse shall be altered in such a manner as to reduce its carrying capacity. Prior to permitting any alteration or relocation of a watercourse, the Planning Board will send notification to the neighboring communities, the Rhode Island Statewide Planning Program and the Federal Insurance Administration.
(3) 
All plat proposals will be reviewed by the Planning Board or its agent to assure that the design of the plat is consistent with the need to minimize flood damage. Public improvements, facilities, and utilities are constructed or installed in a manner that will minimize flood damage. Adequate drainage will be provided to minimize the accumulation of water.
Erosion and Sediment Control design shall be in accordance with Chapter 20, Article III of Cumberland's Code of Ordinances, as amended.
Site design should avoid steep slopes, minimize slopes in graded areas and work with the natural drainage and topography of the site. Original boundaries, alignment and slopes of watercourses within the project locus shall be preserved to the greatest extent feasible.
Development plans should preserve natural features, keep cut and fill operations to a minimum and ensure conformity with topography so as to adequately handle the volume and velocity of surface water runoff.
[Amended 1-25-2024]
The Planning Board and/or the Administrative Officer reserves the right to determine lot location and total number of lots in conformance with the Town Zoning Ordinance and in recognition of the need to preserve primary natural features. Additionally,
(1) 
All lots shall front an existing or proposed public street.
(2) 
All lot dimensions shall conform to the requirements of the Town of Cumberland Zoning Ordinance.
(3) 
The proportion of average lot depth to average lot width shall not exceed 2 1/2:1.
(4) 
Lots shall not extend through a block to another existing or proposed residential street (through lots).
(5) 
Side lot lines shall be at right angles to street lines or radial to curved street lines unless the Planning Board determines that a variation from this rule will provide a better street or lot plan. Except on those sides bordering a street, lots shall not have interior angles greater than 200°.
(6) 
All lots and limit of disturbance areas in relation thereto shall avoid primary natural constraint areas (slopes 15%, rock/ledge outcrops, floodplains, wetland areas including RIDEM jurisdictional wetland areas).
(7) 
Driveways may not exceed a slope of 10%. Proposed house/unit locations must be accessed from the lot's frontage unless otherwise approved by the Planning Board. In instances where the topography to the proposed house location exceeds 10%, the applicant must provide engineered plans for the driveway's construction resulting in a driveway that does not exceed a 10% slope using whatever necessary soil and erosion control measures.
(8) 
Within 10 feet of adjoining properties, changes to existing grade are to be limited to a slope of 2:1. Retaining structures must be provided to contain slopes that exceed the 2:1 ratio.
(9) 
All lots shall conform to the Cumberland Comprehensive Plan.
Blocks shall not be greater than 1,000 feet in length. The Planning Board may require provision for pedestrian rights-of-way at the center of blocks. All such rights-of-way shall be 10 feet wide, shall be paved and landscaped, and shall be dedicated to the Town.