[Adopted 1-15-1985 (Ch. 16, Art.
VI, Div. 1, of the 1985 Code of Ordinances)]
Pursuant to this article and the subdivision regulations of the Town
of Smithfield, every subdivider who subdivides land within the Town of Smithfield
shall dedicate a portion of such land or pay a fee in-lieu-of such dedication,
as set forth in this article for the purpose of providing park, playground,
and/or recreational facilities to serve future residents of such subdivision.
If the Planning Board of the Town of Smithfield while serving as the
official planning agency of said Town determines that a suitable park, playground,
or recreational area of adequate size cannot be properly located in a proposed
subdivision, or is otherwise not practical, such rules and regulations as
adopted by said Board may require as a condition to final approval of any
residential plat, a monetary fee paid by the developer to the Town of Smithfield.
Said fee shall be known as a "fee in-lieu-of land dedication."
The procedure for determining whether a subdivider shall be required
to dedicate land for recreational purposes or pay a fee in-lieu-of such dedication
shall be as follows:
A. Responsibility of the subdivider. At the time of preliminary
plat submission, the subdivider as part of such filing shall indicate on said
plat plan the potential location of property to be dedicated for public recreational
purposes. Should the subdivider be unable to select a location for such purposes,
a statement to that effect shall be entered on the plat plan in addition to
the reasons therefor. Said notations shall appear in the "notes" section of
the plat plan.
B. Responsibility of the Town. Prior to the preliminary
plat approval of the proposed subdivision, the Planning Board shall determine
as part of said approval whether the subdivider shall be required to dedicate
land for public recreational purposes or pay a fee in-lieu-of land dedication.
C. Prerequisites for final plat approval:
(1) When a subdivider is required to dedicate land for public recreational purposes pursuant to Subsection
B, said dedication shall be accomplished in accordance with the provisions established in the subdivision regulations of the Town of Smithfield.
(2) When a subdivider is required to pay a fee in-lieu-of
land dedication for public recreational purposes, the same shall be deposited
with the Town prior to the stamping of the approved final plat plan.
The process of determining whether a suitable park, playground, or recreational
area of adequate size can be properly located in a proposed subdivision shall
incorporate a review and analysis of the following considerations:
A. The provisions of the Recreation and Conservation Plan
of the Town of Smithfield;
B. The provisions of the Comprehensive Community Plan of
the Town of Smithfield;
C. The size and shape of the proposed subdivision and the
land available for dedication;
D. The topography, geology, soil conditions and characteristics,
tree cover, access, accessibility of recreational site to future residents
of the proposed subdivision, recreational needs of the population, location,
and other pertinent characteristics of the land available for dedication relative
to the usability of the land for public recreational purposes;
E. The provisions of pertinent Town, state, and other official
documents, reports, and plans which relate to the determination of the suitability
of the land available for dedication.
Fees in-lieu-of dedication shall be deposited in a special interest-bearing
fund, entitled "Recreational Capital Account," said monies shall be utilized
exclusively for the acquisition, improvement, or maintenance of park, playground,
and other recreational properties owned by the Town. Separate bookkeeping
entries shall be maintained for each subdivision by the Town Treasurer. As
funds are expended from each subdivision subaccount, a record shall be maintained
relative to the purpose of each expenditure.
The provisions of this article shall apply to all subdivisions as defined
in § 45-23-1 of the General Laws of Rhode Island, 1956, as amended,
in Chapter 45-23, entitled "Subdivision of Land," except subdivisions which
are nonresidential and/or for which preliminary plat plans have been filed
with the Planning Board with the period of six months before enactment of
this article and up to and including the effective date of this article.