[Added 6-23-1999 by Ch. No. 2531; amended 12-20-2023 by Ch. No. 3287]
A.
Purpose. It is the purpose of this article to establish procedures
pursuant to the permitting process which will enable the City to perform
a comprehensive review of certain proposed developments. The development
plan review (DPR) procedure shall not be used to deny an applicant
a permitted use of the property as established by the Zoning Ordinance.
The particular uses requiring development plan review are outlined.
The development plan review requirements of this article are designed
to assure safe, orderly and harmonious development of property in
a manner that shall:
(1)
Provide suitable safeguard and consideration for land use and
site architectural design that is compatible with adjacent districts
and uses;
(2)
Permit development to an extent commensurate with the availability
and capacity of public facilities and services and promote the safe
circulation of traffic throughout the City;
(3)
Preserve and protect natural resources and features and encourage
consideration of environmental impacts and mitigative measures;
(4)
Encourage the provision of open space and public access and
give due consideration to the quality and design of landscaping;
(5)
Encourage adequate consideration for the proper control of erosion,
surface and subsurface drainage and pollution;
(6)
Facilitate orderly harmonious site development including safe
and convenient provision and design of egress and ingress, off-street
parking, truck loading, internal circulation, emergency access, refuse
disposal outdoor storage, signage and lighting;
(7)
Preserve natural, historical, and cultural resources to the
maximum extent feasible;
(8)
Protect appropriate vistas and environmental qualities of the
City;
(9)
Assure consideration of the various elements of the comprehensive
plan of the City.
B.
Applicability. No permit to build, alter or expand any of the uses
requiring development plan review as outlined below shall be issued
by the Building Official until a written statement of final approval
in accordance with this article has been received. The applicant is
responsible for obtaining a building permit through the Zoning and
Code Enforcement Office as required by City ordinances. The applicant
must submit all plans and documents normally required for a building
permit. The approved final plan shall be part of this submission.
The development plan review process will not preclude the need to
meet other City requirements as they may apply to a particular development.
No alteration to any City ordinance requirements, or any necessity
to gain approval by another legal jurisdiction shall be deemed to
be authorized or granted by virtue of the development plan review
under this article.
C.
Coordination with other reviews.
(1)
Applications under this article which require relief which qualifies only as a modification shall proceed by filing an application and a request for a modification to the Director of Zoning and Code Enforcement in accordance with § 410-97.1. If such modification is granted the application shall then proceed to be reviewed by the designated permitting authority as determined in this article. If the modification is denied or an objection is received as set forth in § 410-97.1C, such application shall proceed under unified development review and be reviewed by the City Planning Commission or Joint Planning Commission as appropriate.
(2)
Applications under this article which require a special use
permit or a variance. The development plan review process must be
conducted by the City Planning Commission or Joint Planning Commission
under unified development review as appropriate, and a request for
the review shall accompany the preliminary Development Plan Review
application.
D.
Development plan review process. Development plan review consists
of two review processes, administrative and formal. A development
subject to formal DPR shall not be subject to administrative DPR.
(1)
Administrative development plan review consists of one stage
of review and the authorized permitting authority is the Administrative
Officer.
(2)
Formal development plan review consists of the preliminary stage
and final stage of review.
(3)
The Administrative Officer may combine the stages of review
for formal development plan review, providing that the submission
requirements of both stages of review are met by the applicant to
the satisfaction of the Administrative Officer.
E.
Development plan review thresholds. Applications for development
shall be reviewed in accordance with the following thresholds. Any
application for a major subdivision that meets the minimum for a land
development project as defined by the City of Pawtucket shall be subject
to the review procedures provided for those activities and shall not
require development plan review. A development subject to development
plan review shall not otherwise be classified as a land development
project. Specific zoning districts may have alternative requirements
for development plan review. The requirements of those districts shall
govern.
(1)
Formal development plan review required by the City Planning
Commission or Joint Planning Commission as appropriate unless assigned
to a technical review committee elsewhere in this chapter:
(a)
Any development exceeding the thresholds for administrative
development plan review.
(b)
Any application that is referred to the City Planning Commission
or Joint Planning Commission as appropriate by the Administrative
Officer or the Zoning Board of Review.
(c)
Unified development review applications.
(2)
Administrative development plan review required by the Administrative
Officer:
(a)
Construction of any new residential structure or conversion
of any existing structure to residential consisting of nine units
or less.
(b)
Construction of any new commercial or industrial primary structure
less than or equal to 10,000 square feet of gross floor area.
(c)
Accessory structures exceeding 150 square feet of gross floor
area.
(d)
An expansion of up to 50% of existing floor area or up to 10,000
square feet for commercial, manufacturing or industrial structures.
(e)
Mixed-use development consisting of up to six dwelling units
and 2,500 gross square feet of commercial space or less.
(f)
An adaptive reuse project of up to 25,000 square feet of gross
floor area located in a nonresidential zone where no extensive exterior
construction of improvements is sought.
(g)
An adaptive reuse project located in a residential zone which
results in less than nine residential units.
(h)
Electric, gas, water, and irrigation stations and structures
that are part of a public utility system.
(i)
Any permitted use that is specifically referred in writing to
the Administrative Officer by the Building Official or the Director
of Zoning and Code Enforcement.
F.
Certification.
(1)
The application shall be certified, in writing, complete or
incomplete by the Administrative Officer within 25 days. If no street
creation or extension is required, and/or unified development review
is not required, the application shall be certified complete or incomplete
by the Administrative Officer within 15 days.
(2)
The running of the time period set forth in this section will
be deemed stopped upon the issuance of a written certificate of incompleteness
of the application by the Administrative Officer and will recommence
upon the resubmission of a corrected application by the applicant.
However, in no event will the Administrative Officer be required to
certify a corrected submission as complete or incomplete less than
10 days after its resubmission.
(3)
If the Administrative Officer certifies the application as incomplete,
the Administrative Officer shall set forth in writing with specificity
the missing or incomplete items.
G.
Application review and decision.
(1)
Administrative development plan review. An application shall
be approved, denied, or approved with conditions within 25 days of
the certificate of completeness or within any further time that is
agreed to in writing by the applicant and Administrative Officer.
(2)
Formal development plan review.
(a)
Preliminary plan. Unless the application is reviewed under unified
development review, the permitting authority will approve, deny, or
approve with conditions, the preliminary plan within 65 days of certification
of completeness, or within any further time that is agreed to by the
applicant and the permitting authority.
(b)
Final plan. For formal development plan review, the permitting
authority shall delegate final plan review and approval to the Administrative
Officer. The Administrative Officer will report its actions in writing
to the permitting authority at its next regular meeting, to be made
part of the record. Final plan shall be approved or denied within
45 days after the certification of completeness, or within a further
amount of time that may be consented to by the applicant, in writing.
(3)
Failure to act. Failure of the permitting authority to act within
the period prescribed constitutes approval of the preliminary plan
and a certificate of the Administrative Officer as to the failure
to act within the required time and the resulting approval shall be
issued on request of the application.
(4)
Vested rights. Approval of development plan review shall expire
two years from the date of approval unless, within that period, a
plat or plan, in conformity with approval, and as defined in this
chapter, is submitted for signature and recording. Validity may be
extended for an additional period upon application to the Administrative
Officer or permitting authority, whichever entity approved the application,
upon a showing of good cause.
(5)
Changes to plans.
(a)
Minor changes to the plans approved at any stage may be approved
administratively, by the Administrative Officer, whereupon final plan
approval may be issued. The changes may be authorized without an additional
permitting authority meeting, at the discretion of the Administrative
Officer. All changes shall be made part of the permanent record of
the project application. This provision does not prohibit the Administrative
Officer from requesting recommendation from the permitting authority.
Minor changes are described in the Land Development and Subdivision
Regulations.
(b)
Denial of the proposed change(s) shall be referred to the permitting
authority for review as a major change.
(c)
Major changes to the plans approved at any stage may be approved
only by the permitting authority and must follow the same review and
hearing process required for approval of preliminary plans, which
shall include a public hearing. Major changes are described in the
Land Development and Subdivision Regulations.
(d)
The Administrative Officer shall notify the applicant in writing
within 14 days of submission of the final plan application if the
Administrative Officer determines that there has been a major change
to the approved plans.
H.
Waivers.
(1)
Requirements for development plan approval may be waived where
there is a change in use or occupancy and no extensive construction
of improvements is sought. The waiver may be granted only by a decision
by the permitting authority identified in this article, finding that
the use will not affect existing drainage, circulation, relationship
of buildings to each other, landscaping, buffering, lighting and other
considerations of development plan approval, and that the existing
facilities do not require upgraded or additional site improvements.
(2)
The application for a waiver of development plan approval review
shall include documentation on prior use of the site, the proposed
use, and its impact.
I.
Criteria for approval. The City Planning Commission or the permitting
authority shall review the application and supporting documentation
and shall issue development plan approval (including appropriate revisions
and conditions), provided that the applicant has proved to the Commission/permitting
authority that the following criteria will be met:
(1)
The design of the proposed development will be consistent with
the goals of the City Comprehensive Plan and will implement the purposes
of development plan review;
(2)
The proposal complies with all applicable provisions within
the Zoning Ordinance;
(3)
The plans for such project provide sufficient designs to all
dimensional standards, including, but not limited to, parking and
circulation, to ensure the health and safety of Pawtucket residents
and visitors;
(6)
Any conditions or restrictions that are necessary to ensure
that these criteria have been met have been incorporated into the
written approval.
J.
Appeals.
(1)
Appeals to Providence County Superior Court may be taken by
a person aggrieved by any final action of the permitting authority
pursuant to the provisions of this section. Such appeal shall be taken
within 20 days of recording and posting of the decision with the City
Clerk. Copies of the development plan and the findings shall be made
available by the Department of Planning and Redevelopment for review
by any party.
K.
Interpretation, conflict, and severability.
(1)
In their interpretation and application, the provisions of this
article shall be held to be the minimum requirements. More stringent
requirements may be required if it is demonstrated that different
standards are necessary to promote the public health, safety and welfare.
(2)
Where the Administrative Officer or the Commission recognizes
the design standards of this article cannot be fully met, the Administrative
Officer or the Commission has the authority to approve development
plans incorporating a balance of the design standards in a manner
which maximizes the achievement of the stated objectives of this article.
Compensating amenities and features exceeding standards and objectives
must be identified within such a development plan. The Administrative
Officer or the Commission shall address these offsetting features
in writing as part of its statement of final decision.
(3)
Where the conditions imposed by any provisions of this article
are either more restrictive or less restrictive than comparable conditions
imposed by any other provisions of this article or of any other applicable
law, ordinance resolution, rule or regulation of any kind, the regulations
which are more restrictive and impose higher standards or requirements
shall govern.
(4)
The provisions of this article are severable. If a section,
sentence, clause, or phrase of this article is adjudged by a court
of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the decision shall not affect
the remaining portions of this article.
