[Added 2-2-2002; amended 3-20-2002; 3-20-2004;7-21-2004;10-18-2004]
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 West Greenwich Comprehensive
Plan. It is the intent of this article to allow controlled growth
in relation to the existing and future capacity of Town facilities
and the Exeter-West Greenwich School District (hereafter 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 Plan. The study is entitled "Town Of West
Greenwich, Rhode Island, Growth Management Program," and was adopted
by the Town Council on February 20, 2002. 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.
Issuance of building permits authorizing creation of one or more dwelling units, as defined by this chapter, through new construction or change of use shall be allowed 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 § 400-161 of this article.
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 and October.
The number of residential permits to be issued shall be limited in
accordance with the following formula:
A.
Total permits per quarter equals the currently available seats within
School District plus any increase of seats that the School District
may provide for through new construction of school facilities over
the next 10 years, commencing January 1, 2002 divided by 0.6 less
the number of low- and moderate-income housing permits issued as set
forth below divided by 40 quarters.
B.
If any low- and moderate-income housing permits have been issued pursuant to § 400-166A below, then the number of dwelling units encompassed in such permits shall be subtracted from the overall number of permits available, such that the increased school population from such units is amortized over the remaining years of the Growth Management Program.
Initially, it has been determined by the Town Council, based upon studies conducted pursuant to the Comprehensive Plan and studies cited in § 400-159, along with data supplied by the School District, the Town's present capacity for additional dwelling units is based on the following:
|
1999/2001 - Total Capacity
|
2,320
|
|
Plus Recaptured Seats - Interim Plan
|
61
|
|
Total
|
2,381
|
|
2000/2001 Enrollment
|
2,130
|
|
Existing excess capacity - District wide
|
251
|
|
Existing excess capacity - West Greenwich at 47%
|
118
|
|
Divided by (pupil per dwelling unit ratio here)
|
0.6
|
|
Equals Number of Permits in Ten-Year Period
|
197
|
|
Number of Permits Per Year
|
20
|
|
Number of Permits Per Quarter
|
5, 5, 5, 5
|
A.
Following the method established in § 400-162, the calculation of the formula for all subsequent quarters shall be performed by the Town Planner and submitted to the Planning Board and posted in the offices of the Town Clerk and Building Official not less than 30 days prior to the commencement of the quarter for which the quota is to be applied. To assist the Town Planner in her/his calculation, the Town Planner shall request, in writing, that the Superintendant of Schools supply her/him with the number of available seats in the School District based on the current capacity less the actual enrollment as of October 1 of the current school calendar year, and the increase in seat capacity, projected from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2011 based upon any adopted plan of the School District. In addition, the Superintendant of Schools shall indicate the actual number of pupils from West Greenwich and the percentage of West Greenwich pupils to the entire School District's student body.
B.
The Town Planner shall monitor the School District's overall capacity
by checking with the Superintendant of School 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 Town Planner shall
notify the Town Clerk and Building Official 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, or if any low- and moderate-income
housing permits have been issued, the Town Planner shall recalculate
the quota and notify the Town Clerk and Building Official 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.
C.
In order to more fairly balance the goals of growth management with
the goal of equitable distribution of available building permits,
notwithstanding the foregoing, the Town Council may, in its discretion,
adopt a lesser restriction than the quota derived from this calculation.
Said lesser restriction shall be adopted by resolution of the Town
Council after a public hearing for which notice, in accordance with
that for a public hearing on a zoning amendment, has been given. (Amended
7-21-2004, retroactive to the beginning of the current quarter, having
begun on July 1, 2004.)
For the purpose of this article, the effective date shall be
February 21, 2002.[1] For the remainder of the first quarter of 2002, the Building
Official shall apply the number of permits on a pro-rata basis. Any
application for a building permit creating one or more additional
dwelling units submitted after the effective date of this article
shall be subject to the review procedures set forth herein. Permit
applications submitted before the effective date of this article shall
not be subject to any of the quota limitations of this article. This
article shall supersede any and all ordinances inconsistent herewith.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended on 3-20-2002 to change the effective
date to 7-1-2002.
A.
The following types of dwellings shall not be subject to the provisions
of this article 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 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 article. All such permits issued 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 limit prescribed in the Rhode
Island State Building Code, regardless of the availability of permits
within the quota.
(1)
Vested rights. An application to construct a dwelling is not
subject to this section if allowed pursuant to the vested rights provisions
of this article.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
(2)
Phased subdivisions. Phased subdivisions that have received
preliminary approval by the Planning Board with mandatory phasing
restrictions shall be exempt from the quota, provided that the phasing
restrictions of the Planning Board are met. Such exemption shall survive
only until the termination of the Planning Board's restrictions.
(3)
Elderly housing developments. 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.
(4)
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.
(5)
Multifamily dwellings. Multifamily dwellings have 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 residence. Any community residence as defined by R.I.G.L.
§ 45-24-31.
(7)
Special impact development. Multi-household land development
projects within the Exit 7 Special Management District (SMD) which,
at the time of master plan approval, the applicant has proven to the
satisfaction of the Planning Board that the development shall have
no or very limited impacts on those critical Town capacities which
most severely limit sustainable and serviceable growth, including
but not limited to educational facilities and services.
[Amended 10-18-2004]
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.
A.
First priority. The first priority shall be given to applications for construction of low- and moderate-income housing. "Low- and moderate-income housing" means any housing subsidized by the federal or state government under any program to assist the construction or rehabilitation of low- and moderate 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: 1) any public agency, nonprofit organization or limited-equity housing cooperative proposing to build or rehabilitate low- and moderate-income housing; or 2) any private developer proposing a low- and moderate-income rental housing which remain as low- and moderate-income housing for a period of not less than 30 years from initial occupancy. Projects eligible or sponsored by an eligible entity and: (1) are eligible and approved for a subsidy for the state or federal government under any program to assist the construction or rehabilitation of low- and moderate-income housing; and (2) have at least the minimum number of units reserved for low- and moderate-income housing as defined by the program providing the subsidy or 25% of the total number of units reserved for low- and moderate-income housing, whichever is greater. The number of such permits issued shall not be deducted from the current year's allotment of permits, but shall be amortized according to the schedule set forth in § 400-161 above.
B.
Second priority.
(1)
The
second priority shall be given to applications for construction of
a new single-family detached dwellings, provided that:
(2)
This priority level shall not apply:
(a)
If the applicant has previously received a permit for a new
single-family detached dwelling in West Greenwich; or
(b)
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 West Greenwich within two years
prior to the date of application.
C.
Third priority. The third priority shall be reserved for ultra-low-density
family compounds, when and if enacted.
D.
Fourth priority. 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 article.
E.
Remainder. 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 this article
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 if incomplete and
does not contain all plans and materials as required by this article
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.
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 § 400-165. 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. 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 for exempt dwellings, exceed the annual quota.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
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 10% (rounded off to the nearest whole number) of the available
permits for dwelling units (based on the number of the previous year's
quota and based on 20 permits for the first year) 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 year 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 purpose of this article 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 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 transmitted to the Planning Board. The procedure for any appeal, including a public hearing, shall be in accordance with § 400-8D of this chapter.[1]
