Town of East Greenwich, RI Procedures for Adoption and Amendment

Initiation of application.

Requests to amend this chapter may be initiated by the East Greenwich Town Council, Planning Board or any real property owner in the Town. Applications for amendments shall be made in the office of the Town Clerk on a form provided therefor; however, the Planning Department shall review the application for completeness and compliance with this article prior to its acceptance.

(2)

Immediately upon receipt of a complete application the Town Clerk shall forward such application to the Town Council, Planning Board and Planning Department.

Authorized applicants.

(1)

In the event an application for amendment is proposed by a property owner, the application shall be signed by the owner of the real property which is the subject of the application or by the agent or attorney for the owner of such property. The authority of an agent or attorney for a real property owner applicant shall be in writing and shall be presented at the time the application is filed.

(2)

Application initiated by the Town Council or Planning Board to change the district map shall conform to the Comprehensive Community Plan, but none of the requirements of this section shall apply.

Fee schedule. Application for amendment to the ordinance or map(s) shall be accompanied by fees as follows:

[Amended 12-17-2007 by Ord. No. 786.4]

	Fee Schedule Zoning Amendment Applications
	Proposal	Nonrefundable Fee
	Comprehensive Community Plan amendment	$500*
	Rezoning to Residential District	$1,000*
	Rezoning to Commercial, Light Industrial, or Waterfront District	$1,000*
	Amendment to general requirements or use of any zone	$500*
	Request for Town Council continuance	$200*
	Rezoning to Planned Development (PD) or to Mixed Use Planned Development (MUPD)	$1,000 plus $20 per acre exclusive of wetlands*
	Amendment to Planned Development (PD) or Mixed Use Planned Development (MUPD)	$500*
	Request for extension of time on an approved PD or MUPD	$100*

*NOTE: In addition to this fee, the applicant shall bear the expense of the public notice, notification to abutters (if applicable) and stenographers. A nonrefundable deposit of $250 shall be required to cover the expense of stenographic services.

(1)

To protect the public health, safety and welfare, the Town may require peer review of expert witness reports and testimony on behalf of applicants. A list of peers and their fees shall be maintained by the Town for selection by the Town, and the cost of peer review shall be borne by the applicant.

[Added 5-22-2006 by Ord. No. 767]

(2)

The Town reserves the right to place a lien on the subject property for any fees not paid in full.

[Added 5-22-2006 by Ord. No. 767]

Hearings.

(1)

Hearing(s) by Planning Board; report to Town Council. Upon receipt of the zoning application from the Town Clerk, the Planning Board shall study and make recommendations on said application. The Planning Board shall seek the advice of the Planning Department and shall report to the Town Council within 45 days after receipt of the proposal unless an extension has been requested by the applicant or has been mutually agreed upon by the Planning Board and the applicant. The Planning Board's report to the Town Council shall include, but not be limited to:

(a)

The Planning Board's recommendation;

(b)

A summary of its findings;

(c)

A statement as to the general consistency of the proposal with the Comprehensive Community Plan, including the goals and policies statement, the implementation program, and all other applicable elements of the Comprehensive Community Plan; and

(d)

A demonstration of the Planning Board's recognition and consideration of the applicable purposes of this chapter.

(2)

Hearing(s) by the Town Council. The Town Council shall hold a public hearing within 65 days of receipt of a proposal. For the purposes of this article, "receipt of a proposal" is defined as the date of the first Town Council meeting held following the receipt of the Planning Board's report. The Town Council shall render a decision on any such proposal within 45 days after the date of completion of its public hearing. Extensions of deadlines require the applicant's consent.

Notice and hearing requirements. No zoning ordinance shall be adopted, repealed or amended until after a public hearing has been held upon the question before the Town Council in compliance with this section.

(1)

Notice.

(a)

When any proposed general amendment to this chapter is proposed, whether requiring a change to the Zoning Map or not, the Town Council shall first give notice of a public hearing by publication of a notice in a newspaper of general circulation within East Greenwich at least once each week for three successive weeks prior to the date of such hearing. This notice may appear during the week in which the hearing is to be held. The notice shall advertise that all persons interested in this matter shall be given the opportunity to be heard on the proposed amendment.

(b)

Written notice, which may be a copy of said newspaper notice, shall be mailed to the Associate Director of the Division of Planning of the Rhode Island Department of Administration at least two weeks prior to the hearing.

(c)

Such 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 shall:

[1]

Specify the date, time and location of the hearing.

[2]

Indicate that adoption, amendment or repeal of this chapter is under consideration.

[3]

Contain a statement of the proposed amendments to the ordinance that may either be printed once in its entirety or summarized or otherwise described.

[4]

Advise where and when a copy of the matter under consideration may be obtained or examined and copied.

[5]

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

(2)

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 E(1) of this section, with the additional requirement that:

(a)

Newspaper notice shall include a map showing the existing and proposed boundaries, zoning district boundaries, and existing streets and roads and their names, and city and town boundaries where appropriate.

(b)

Written notice of the date, time and place of the public hearing and the nature and purpose thereof shall be sent to all owners of real property whose property is located in or within not less than 200 feet 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. (Such notice shall be sent by registered or certified mail to the last known address of such owners as shown on the current real estate tax assessment records of the city or town in which the property is located.)[1]

[1]

Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. IV).

(3)

Where the proposed change would affect an area within 200 feet of an abutting municipality and/or within 2,000 feet of a public or quasi-public water source (or a private water source suitable for public use), a notice of the public hearing shall be sent by first class mail to the affected municipality or agency.

(4)

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

(5)

Costs of any notice required under this section shall be borne by the applicant.

Decision.

(1)

Upon completion of the public hearing, and within the required time frame, the Town Council may approve, approve with conditions, revise or deny the application for an amendment to this chapter and the Zoning Map(s).

(2)

Limitations and conditions.

(a)

In granting an amendment to this chapter, 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 such 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 which are the subject of the zoning change;

[2]

Relating to the effectiveness or continued effectiveness of the zoning change; and/or

[3]

Relating to the use of the land as it deems necessary.

(b)

The Town Council shall direct the appropriate Town department(s) to cause the limitations and conditions so imposed by their decision to be clearly noted on the Zoning Map and recorded in the land evidence records; provided, however, 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.

(3)

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 years or more after the zone change becomes effective, the Town Council may, after public notice and a public hearing as set forth in this section, revert the land to its original zoning use/designation before such petition was filed.

(4)

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.

(5)

Where an application to amend the Ordinance or Map(s) is denied by the Town Council, an identical application shall not be accepted by the Town Clerk's office for a period of one year following said denial.