§ 45-24-33 Standard provisions. – (a) A
zoning ordinance addresses each of the purposes stated in § 45-24-30 and
addresses, through reasonable objective standards and criteria, the following
general provisions which are numbered for reference purposes only:
(1) Permitting, prohibiting, limiting, and restricting the
development of land and structures in zoning districts, and regulating those land
and structures according to their type, and the nature and extent of their use;
(2) Regulating the nature and extent of the use of land
for residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, recreational,
agricultural, open space, or other use or combination of uses, as the need for
land for those purposes is determined by the city or town's comprehensive plan;
(3) Permitting, prohibiting, limiting, and restricting
buildings, structures, land uses, and other development by performance
standards, or other requirements, related to air and water and groundwater
quality, noise and glare, energy consumption, soil erosion and sedimentation,
and/or the availability and capacity of existing and planned public or private
services;
(4) Regulating within each district and designating
requirements for:
(i) The height, number of stories, and size of buildings;
(ii) The dimensions, size, lot coverage, floor area
ratios, and layout of lots or development areas;
(iii) The density and intensity of use;
(iv) Access to air and light, views, and solar access;
(v) Open space, yards, courts, and buffers;
(vi) Parking areas, road design, and, where appropriate,
pedestrian, bicycle, and other circulator systems;
(vii) Landscaping, fencing, and lighting;
(viii) Appropriate drainage requirements and methods to
manage stormwater runoff;
(ix) Public access to waterbodies, rivers, and streams;
and
(x) Other requirements in connection with any use of land
or structure;
(5) Permitting, prohibiting, limiting, and restricting
development in flood plains or flood hazard areas and designated significant
natural areas;
(6) Promoting the conservation of energy and promoting
energy-efficient patterns of development;
(7) Providing for the protection of existing and planned
public drinking water supplies, their tributaries and watersheds, and the
protection of Narragansett Bay, its tributaries and watershed;
(8) Providing for adequate, safe, and efficient
transportation systems; and avoiding congestion by relating types and levels of
development to the capacity of the circulation system, and maintaining a safe
level of service of the system;
(9) Providing for the preservation and enhancement of the
recreational resources of the city or town;
(10) Promoting an economic climate which increases quality
job opportunities and the overall economic well-being of the city or town and
the state;
(11) Providing for pedestrian access to and between public
and private facilities, including, but not limited to schools, employment
centers, shopping areas, recreation areas, and residences;
(12) Providing standards for and requiring the provision
of adequate and properly designed physical improvements, including plantings,
and the proper maintenance of property;
(13) Permitting, prohibiting, limiting, and restricting
land use in areas where development is deemed to create a hazard to the public
health or safety;
(14) Permitting, prohibiting, limiting, and restricting
extractive industries and earth removal and requiring restoration of land after
these activities;
(15) Regulating sanitary landfill, except as otherwise
provided by state statute;
(16) Permitting, prohibiting, limiting, and restricting
signs and billboards, and other outdoor advertising devices;
(17) Designating airport hazard areas under the provisions
of chapter 3 of title 1, and enforcement of airport hazard area zoning
regulations under the provisions established in that chapter;
(18) Designating areas of historic, cultural, and/or
archaeological value and regulating development in those areas under the
provisions of chapter 24.1 of this title;
(19) Providing standards and requirements for the
regulation, review, and approval of any proposed development in connection with
those uses of land, buildings, or structures specifically designated as subject
to development plan review in a zoning ordinance;
(20) Designating special protection areas for water supply
and limiting or prohibiting development in these areas, except as otherwise
provided by state statute;
(21) Specifying requirements for safe road access to
developments from existing streets, including limiting the number, design, and
location of curb cuts, and provisions for internal circulation systems for new
developments, and provisions for pedestrian and bicycle ways; and
(22) Reducing unnecessary delay in approving or
disapproving development applications, through provisions for preapplication
conferences and other means.
(23) Providing for the application of the Rhode Island
Fair Housing Practices Act, chapter 37 of title 34, the United States Fair
Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (FHAA), the Rhode Island Civil Rights People
with Disabilities Act, chapter 37 of title 42, and the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.
(24) Regulating drive-through windows of varied intensity
of use when associated with land use activities and providing standards and
requirements for the regulation, review and approval of the drive-through
windows, including, but not limited to:
(i) Identifying within which zoning districts
drive-through windows may be permitted, prohibited, or permitted by special use
permit;
(ii) Specifying requirements for adequate traffic
circulation; and
(iii) Providing for adequate pedestrian safety and access,
including issues concerning safety and access for those with disabilities.
(b) A zoning ordinance may include special provisions for
any or all of the following:
(1) Authorizing development incentives, known as incentive
zoning, for purposes of providing increases in the permitted use or dimension
as a condition for, but not limited to:
(i) Increased open space;
(ii) Increased housing choices;
(iii) Traffic and pedestrian improvements;
(iv) Public and/or private facilities; and/or
(v) Other amenities as desired by the city or town and
consistent with its comprehensive plan. The provisions in the ordinance shall
include maximum allowable densities of population and/or intensities of use and
shall indicate the type of improvements, amenities, and/or conditions.
Conditions may be made for donation in lieu of direct provisions for
improvements or amenities;
(2) Establishing a system for transfer of development
rights within or between zoning districts designated in the zoning ordinance;
and
(3) Regulating the development adjacent to designated
scenic highways, scenic waterways, major thoroughfares, public greenspaces, or
other areas of special public investment or valuable natural resources.