Town of Charlestown, RI Article III Amendments Procedure

§ 218-13 Procedure.

[Amended 2-12-2024 by Ord. No. 409]

A. No zoning ordinance shall be adopted, repealed, or amended until after a public hearing has been held upon the question before the town council. The town council shall first give notice of the public hearing by publication of notice in a newspaper of local circulation within the town at least once each week for three (3) successive weeks prior to the date of the hearing, which may include the week in which the hearing is to be held, at which hearing opportunity shall be given to all persons interested to be heard upon the matter of the proposed ordinance. Written notice, which may be a copy of the newspaper notice, shall be mailed to the parties specified in Subsections B, C, D, E, and F of this section, at least two (2) weeks prior to the hearing. The newspaper notice shall be published as a display advertisement, using a type size at least as large as the normal type size used by the newspaper in its news articles, and the same notice shall be posted in the town clerk's office and one other municipal building in the municipality and the municipality must make the notice accessible on their municipal home page of its website at least fourteen (14) days prior to the hearing. The notice shall:

(1) Specify the place of the hearing and the date and time of its commencement;

(2) Indicate that adoption, amendment, or repeal of a zoning ordinance is under consideration;

(3) Contain a statement of the proposed amendments to the ordinance that shall be printed once in its entirety and twice by reference if the ordinance is lengthy;

(4) Advise those interested where and when a copy of the matter under consideration may be obtained or examined and copied; and

(5) State that the proposals shown on the ordinance may be altered or amended prior to the close of the public hearing without further advertising, as a result of further study or because of the views expressed at the public hearing. Any alteration or amendment must be presented for comment in the course of the hearing.

B. Where a proposed general amendment to an existing zoning ordinance includes changes in an existing zoning map, public notice shall be given as required by Subsection A of this section.

C. Where a proposed text amendment to an existing zoning ordinance would cause a conforming lot of record to become nonconforming by lot area or frontage, written notice shall be given to all owners of the real property as shown on the current real estate tax assessment records of the town. The notice shall be given by first-class mail at least two (2) weeks prior to the hearing at which the text amendment is to be considered, with the content required by Subsection A. If the town zoning ordinance contains an existing merger clause to which the nonconforming lots would be subject, the notice shall include reference to the merger clause and the impacts of common ownership of nonconforming lots. The sender of the notice shall utilize and obtain a United States Postal Service certificate of mailing, and the certificate or an electronic copy thereof shall be retained to demonstrate proof of the mailing. For any notice sent by first-class mail, the sender of the notice shall submit a notarized affidavit to attest to such mailing.

D. Where a proposed amendment to an existing ordinance includes a specific change in a zoning district map, but does not affect districts generally, public notice shall be given as required by Subsection A of this section, with the additional requirements that:

(1) Notice shall include a map showing the existing and proposed boundaries, zoning district boundaries, existing streets and roads and their names, and city and town boundaries where appropriate; and

(2) Written notice of the date, time, and place of the public hearing and the nature and purpose of the hearing shall be sent to all owners of real property whose property is located in or within not less than two hundred feet (200′) of the perimeter of the area proposed for change, whether within the town or within an adjacent city or town. Notice shall also be sent to any individual or entity holding a recorded conservation or preservation restriction on the property that is the subject of the amendment. The notice shall be sent by first-class mail to the last known address of the owners, as shown on the current real estate tax assessment records of the town in which the property is located; provided, for any notice sent by first-class mail, the sender of the notice shall submit a notarized affidavit to attest to such mailing.

E. Notice of a public hearing shall be sent by first-class mail to the city or town council of any city or town to which one or more of the following pertain:

(1) That is located in or within not less than two hundred feet (200′) of the boundary of the area proposed for change; or

(2) Where there is a public or quasi-public water source, or private water source that is used, or is suitable for use, as a public water source, within two thousand feet (2,000′) of any real property that is the subject of a proposed zoning change, regardless of municipal boundaries.

F. Notice of a public hearing shall be sent to the governing body of any state or municipal water department or agency, special water district, or private water company that has riparian rights to a surface water resource or surface watershed that is used, or is suitable for use, as a public water source and that is within two thousand feet (2,000′) of any real property that is the subject of a proposed zoning change; provided, that the governing body of any state or municipal water department or agency, special water district, or private water company has filed with the building inspector in the city or town a map survey, that shall be kept as a public record, showing areas of surface water resources and/or watersheds and parcels of land within two thousand feet (2,000′) thereof.

G. Notwithstanding any of the requirements set forth in Subsections A through E, the Town shall establish and maintain a public notice registry allowing any person or entity to register for electronic notice of any changes to the zoning ordinance. The town shall provide public notice annually of the existence of the electronic registry by publication of notice in a newspaper of general circulation within the city or town.

(1) Provided, however, notice pursuant to a public notice registry as per this section does not alone qualify a person or entity on the public notice registry as an "aggrieved party" under R.I. Gen. Laws § 45-24-31(4).

H. No defect in the form of any notice under this section shall render any ordinance or amendment invalid unless the defect is found to be intentional or misleading.

I. Costs of any notice newspaper and mailing notices required under this section shall be borne by the applicant.

J. In granting a zoning ordinance amendment, notwithstanding the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws § 45-24-37, the town council may limit the change to one of the permitted uses in the zone to which the subject land is rezoned and impose limitations, conditions, and restrictions, including, without limitation: (1) Requiring the petitioner to obtain a permit or approval from any and all state or local governmental agencies or instrumentalities having jurisdiction over the land and use that are the subject of the zoning change; (2) Those relating to the effectiveness or continued effectiveness of the zoning change; and/or (3) Those relating to the use of the land as it deems necessary. The responsible town official shall cause the limitations and conditions so imposed to be clearly noted on the zoning map and recorded in the land evidence records; provided, that in the case of a conditional zone change, the limitations, restrictions, and conditions shall not be noted on the zoning map until the zone change has become effective. The Town Clerk's office shall record the Town Council resolution documenting the limitations and conditions imposed in the land evidence records. The Town Clerk's office shall coordinate with the Building Official and the GIS Coordinator to ensure that the limitations and conditions so imposed are clearly noted on the zoning map. If the permitted use for which the land has been rezoned is abandoned or if the land is not used for the requested purpose for a period of two (2) years or more after the zone change becomes effective, the town council may, after a public hearing, change the land to its original zoning use before the petition was filed. If any limitation, condition, or restriction in an ordinance is held to be invalid by a court in any action, that holding shall not cause the remainder of the ordinance to be invalid.

K. Appeal of Enactment or Amendment. An appeal of an enactment of or an amendment to a zoning ordinance may be taken to the Superior Court of Washington County by filing a complaint, as set forth in R.I. Gen. Laws § 45-24-71.

§ 218-14 Review by Planning Commission.

A. Advisory Opinion. The Planning Commission shall file with the Town Council an advisory opinion on all proposed amendments to this Ordinance within forty-five days of receipt of such a proposal. The Town Council shall consider such advisory opinion but shall not be bound by such. Among its findings and recommendation to the Town Council, the Planning Commission shall:

(1) Include a statement on the general consistency of the proposal with the Comprehensive Plan, including the goals and policies statement, the implementation program, and other applicable elements of the Comprehensive Plan; and

(2) Include a demonstration of recognition and consideration of each of the applicable purposes of zoning as presented in § 218-2, Purpose/consistency with Comprehensive Plan/state laws.

B. Periodic Review. The Planning Commission shall review this Ordinance every two years. The Commission shall recommend any appropriate amendments to the Town Council considering current development trends and needs, or whenever changes are made to the Comprehensive Plan.

§ 218-15 Decision by Town Council.

Within forty-five days after the completion of the public hearing, the Town Council shall render a decision on any proposed amendment and shall notify the applicant, the Building Inspector, Town Planner and the Planning Commission. If the land that has been rezoned is not used for the requested purpose within two years after the zone change becomes effective, the Town Council may, after a public hearing, change the land to its original district. In granting a zoning amendment, the Town Council may limit the change to only one of the permitted uses allowed in the requested district and impose such limitations, conditions, and restrictions, including, without limitation:

A. Requiring the petitioner to obtain a permit or approval from any and all state and local government agencies having jurisdiction over the land and use which are the subject of the zoning change;

B. Those relating to the effectiveness or continued effectiveness of the zoning change;

C. Those relating to the use of the land; as it deems necessary.

D. If any limitation, condition, or restriction in an ordinance is held to be invalid by a court in any action, that holding shall not cause the remainder of the ordinance to be invalid.

§ 218-16 Repetitive petitions.

Where the Town Council or the Zoning Board denies an application, the Council or the Board shall not consider another application for the same request for a period of one year. The Town Council or the Zoning Board, may accept a new application after six months, provided that the application that is accompanied by an affidavit setting forth facts showing a substantial change of circumstances. The Council or Board shall review the affidavit and facts for considering justifying a rehearing for the new application.

§ 218-17 Publication of amendments.

Within twenty days after an amendment, the Town Clerk shall have copies of such available for a fee. The Town Clerk shall record the amendment in the land evidence records at the applicant's expense. Where an amendment changes the Official Zoning Maps, said map shall be amended by the Building Inspector or his agent at the applicant's expense, to show the change. A note shall show the date of amendment and reference the Town Council records. The Town Clerk shall mail a copy of any amendments to the Associate Director of the Rhode Island Division of Planning and the State Law Library.