For the purpose of this chapter, the Town of
East Greenwich is divided into the following fixed zoning districts,
as shown on the Zoning Maps filed in the office of the Town Clerk
and entitled "East Greenwich Zoning Map" and dated July 25, 2000,
and further described below:
A. Residential District (R-4) 4,000 square feet. This
district is designed to provide very high-density residential multifamily
and affordable housing development. A minimum of 10% and a maximum
of 20% of the units in an R-4 development shall be for low- and moderate-income
persons as defined by the state or federal government providing the
subsidy for the housing and shall meet the requirements of the Rhode
Island Low and Moderate Income Housing Act, R.I.G.L. § 45-53-1
et seq., as amended.
B. Residential District (R-6) 6,000 square feet. This
district is designed to provide for high-density residential development
within the Town.
C. Residential District (R-10) 10,000 square feet. This
district is designed to provide for medium/high-density residential
development within the Town.
D. Residential District (R-20) 20,000 square feet. This
district is designed to provide for medium-density residential development
within the Town.
E. Residential District (R-30) 30,000 square feet. This
district is designed to provide for medium/low-density residential
development within the Town.
F. Farming District (F/F-1) one acre. This district is
designed to preserve existing farmland and provide low-density residential
development within the Town.
G. Farming District (F-2) two acres. This district is
designed to preserve farmland and open space and provide for very-low-density
residential development within the Town.
H. Commercial Downtown One District (CD/CD-1). This zone
is designed to provide multiple uses on Main Street properties between
Division Street and First Avenue/Rocky Hollow Road to promote active
use of East Greenwich's downtown area by residents, shoppers and service-use
clients and to provide vehicle and pedestrian safety. This district
emphasizes first-floor (street-level) uses which promote and encourage
pedestrian activity and stops at more than one business.
I. Commercial Downtown Two District (CD-2). This zone
is designed to provide multiple uses on Main Street properties between
First Avenue/Rocky Hollow Road and Cedar Avenue/Forge Road to provide
a transition between the high-density Commercial Downtown (CD-1) District
and the CH Districts.
J. Commercial Highway District (CH). The purpose of this
district is to provide for those uses which generate a high amount
of vehicular traffic in a manner that is safe and efficient.
K. Waterfront District (W). The purpose of this district
is to provide for water-dependent and water-related uses along Greenwich
Cove, and to limit other uses. The Town of East Greenwich has little
waterfront land and only by recognizing this can the Town best utilize
this limited resource.
L. Light Industry and Office District (M/LIO). The purpose
of this district is to provide low-density, low-impact industrial
and office park development primarily along the Route 2/South County
Trail corridor and retain that district's farming and scenic qualities.
M. Planned Development (PD). This is a designation which
allows for residential land uses through environmentally sensitive
design. It would provide for residential development on a single parcel,
for example, a townhouse design.
N. Mixed Use Planned Development (MUPD). This is a designation
which allows for multiple uses on one parcel. It is offered as a development
option as an encouragement to construct and develop low-density commercial
uses to offset the tax burden of higher density residential units.
Low- and moderate-income residential units are particularly encouraged
in an MUPD.
O. Rocky Hill Fairgrounds (RHF). The purpose of this
district is to provide for the development of a private education
center and open space, including a golf course; development located
within 4,000 feet of an interstate highway having frontage on two
or more public roads and having ingress and egress to a state highway
serviced by public sewer, gas, water and electricity.
[Added 10-26-2004 by Ord. No. 750; amended 5-9-2011 by Ord. No.
814]
[Amended 2-25-2002 by Ord. No. 717; 11-4-2002 by Ord. No.
729]
The following regulations shall be applicable
to all zones unless otherwise indicated:
A. Where residential structures are permitted, only one
residential structure shall be located on a lot.
B. For all new residential construction, the maximum
bottom of the foundation elevation of the principal structure shall
be two feet above the proven wet-season high-water table. A site plan
submitted as part of the building permit application shall note this
relationship.
C. Ordinary projections of window sills, cornices and
other structural features may not extend more than 12 inches into
the space above a required setback.
D. On a street in a residential zone in which 25% or
more of the frontage is improved with buildings, the front setback
for a building hereafter erected may extend to the average alignment
of such existing buildings on the same side of the street instead
of as provided for in Table 2 of this chapter, except that no buildings
shall have a front setback of less than 10 feet.
E. The Zoning Board of Review may, by special use permit,
grant relief from the dimensional and intensity regulations of this
chapter for any use it authorizes by special use permit.
F. Accessory structures, swimming pools and/or tennis
courts shall only be permitted in rear yards in the building envelope
and shall not fall within any required side or front setbacks. Such
structures may be no closer than 10 feet from the rear lot line in
the R-30, F-1 and F-2 Zones, and no closer than five feet in the R-20,
R-10, R-6 and W Zones. On corner lots where no rear yard or rear lot
line is present, accessory structures may be permitted to be sited
within the side setback, subject to the limitations as noted above.
G. No wall, fence, structure, vehicle, tree, shrub or
other growth on the property shall so obstruct the view as to cause
a hazard to traffic in the street nor shall it cause pedestrians to
walk in the street where a sidewalk or road shoulder would otherwise
be available. At street intersections, no structure shall be erected
and no vegetation shall be planted or maintained in the space between
the heights of 2 1/2 feet and 10 feet above the triangle formed
by the street lines and a third line joining points on the street
lines 15 feet from the intersection.
H. Development of the lot shall provide no increase in
stormwater runoff quantity or reduce the quality of the runoff from
the lot. Where additional runoff cannot be retained on site, the applicant
shall demonstrate to the Department of Public Works that the existing
public drainage systems are capable of transporting the increased
runoff.
I. Where permitted, commercial uses shall be buffered from adjacent residential uses through landscaping and/or screening, as further defined in Article
VI. When a lot in an LI/O or CH Zone is situated on the opposite side of the street from or is bounded by property zoned for residential use, a buffer strip not less than 100 feet in width shall be provided on each side of such lot which is situated on the opposite side of the street from or which bounds property zoned for residential use. Each such buffer strip shall be maintained in its natural state or shall be planted with evergreen trees or shall be made to contain other opaque screening.
J. Where permitted, outside storage and dumpsters shall be enclosed and buffered from adjacent properties (including rights-of-way) as may be further defined in Article
VI. The owner or operator of any commercial establishment which receives a license or permit from the Town Council and where swill, garbage or refuse accumulates shall provide at such establishment a covered container, which does not leak, for the deposit of all swill, garbage and refuse. The container shall have a cover, which shall be fully closed at all times except when refuse is deposited or removed. No excess refuse may protrude from said container. If deemed necessary and feasible by the Building Official, all containers shall be placed on either a concrete or asphalt pad with an adequate water supply and drainage available for washing the container and the pad. Unless the Building Official determines that it is not feasible, any container which is visible from the street and which holds perishable food waste shall be located within an opaque fenced area, which fence must be at least one foot higher than the highest point of the container on three sides. The fourth side shall have a properly hinged access door, which shall be kept closed at all times except for the depositing or removal of refuse. All containers holding perishable food waste shall be located more than 30 feet from the nearest residence unless the Building Official determines it is not feasible to do so.
K. Curb cuts shall require approval by the Director of
Public Works. Only one curb cut for vehicle access to a parcel shall
be provided from each street frontage. Gas stations shall be permitted
two curb cuts along a single frontage and one curb cut along a second
frontage, for a maximum of three curb cuts.
L. Where the rear of a property falls along Greenwich
Cove, the rear setback shall be used for a combination of landscaping
and boardwalk along waterfront properties. The rear setback shall
not be covered with an impervious surface but shall allow for natural
infiltration in order to protect the water quality of the Cove.
M. Fences and walls not exceeding 10 feet in height in
the LI/O Zone and seven feet in all remaining zones may be constructed.
Fencing for tennis courts may exceed the seven-foot maximum but must
be no greater than 12 feet around the playing surface of the court.
N. It shall be the policy of the Town of East Greenwich
that high-voltage transmission lines should be sited so as to reduce
the risk of electromagnetic field exposure to the lowest possible
level obtainable by existing technology. Since the siting of such
lines is within the jurisdiction of the Energy Facility Siting Board
(EFSB), the Town shall actively participate in the EFSB review process,
and Town agencies rendering advisory opinions to the EFSB shall urge
that said transmission lines be regulated in accordance with the Town's
policy.
O. Private streets shall be prohibited in all residential
developments.
P. Subject to compliance with the requirements of all
applicable federal and state wetlands regulations, wetlands created
by action of the Town of East Greenwich other than stormwater detention
and retention measures shall be excluded from the calculation of wetlands
with respect to the requirements of the PD and MUPD Zones, cluster
development and minimum building envelope.
[Amended 5-23-2005 by Ord. No. 754; 2-27-2006 by Ord. No. 761; 5-1-2006 by Ord. No. 763; 5-22-2006 by Ord. No. 766; 6-12-2006 by Ord. No.
768; 7-10-2006 by Ord. No. 770; 12-15-2008 by Ord. No. 796; 6-14-2010 by Ord. No. 805; 5-11-2015 by Ord. No. 842; 1-25-2016 by Ord. No. 848; 5-9-2016 by Ord. No. 854; 10-24-2016 by Ord.
No. 859]
See the Table of Districts by Assessor's Plats and Digital Map
Numbers.