I.                    CALL TO ORDER:

Acting Chair Michael DeFrancesco called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 

II.                 PUBLIC COMMENT:

None

Chairman Michael DeFrancesco questioned having this section removed as suggested under the revised Planning Boards Rules of Procedures. It was noted that the final approval for the updated Rules of Procedure had not yet occurred, but that revisions for review had been included in this evening’s meeting materials.  This topic will be addressed at November’s work session.               

III.              OLD BUSINESS:

A.     Continued Discussion and/or Possible Action: Draft Changes to the Zoning Use Table, Exeter Zoning Ordinance Article II, Section 2.4.

Chairman DeFrancesco introduced this agenda item. He then asked Town Planner William DePasquale to continue with the draft changes. The Planner noted that they had left off on Page 21 under AUTOMOTIVE/BOAT--Vehicle or equipment rental and onsite storage: No throughout, except under LI requiring a SUP with indoor storage only, no repair, maintenance only.  Repair of vehicles—Machinery, large appliances, equipment, or similar: No throughout, except for LI requiring a SUP with indoor storage only, no repair, maintenance only. Sales of boats and trailers (No Repair)—No throughout except Yes in Business and Yes in Light Industrial. Sales of boats and trailers (With Repair)—No throughout with SUP in LI. Boat repairs, painting—No throughout with SUP in LI with indoor painting only. Parking as a principal use—No throughout. Parking lot serving a commercial building greater than 10,000 square feet in area—SUP in Business district, Yes in LI, SUP Ladd Center, all other zones are No.

Outdoor storage of automobile parts or derelict or unregistered vehicles; Commercial Outdoor repair of vehicles (except farm vehicles); Carwash - are all prohibited throughout the Town.

CONSTRUCTION AND GENRAL CONTRACTOR (Page 22)

Property services—No in Residential Districts; Yes, in Business; Yes, in LB-R; Yes, in LI; No in OS/PL, GWOL, LC and DM; Yes, in PVOD.

Contractor Landscape service with no on-site storage—RE-2 No; RU-3,4, CR-5 Yes;

Contractor Landscape service with open-lot storage or sand, mulch, or other similar material (No coal or firewood) Subject to minimum area requirements, Minimum lot area shall be not less than ten acres, and storage shall be no closer than 200’ from the abutting residentially zoned property—Residential Districts No; Yes, in Business; No in LB-R; Yes, in LI; following by No in each of the remaining zones.

Pest control establishment and rock or masonry crushing – are all prohibited throughout the Town of Exeter.

WHOLESALE/PROCESSING (Pages 22, 23)

Sales of nonhazardous materials indoor only--Yes in Business and LI; No in all other zones.

Sales of nonhazardous materials with outdoor storage-- Yes in Business and LI; No in all other zones. Stone cutting, shaping, and finishing, in completely enclosed buildings—Yes in LI; No in all other zones. Caustic or other hazardous materials - prohibited throughout the Town of Exeter.

Processing and packaging of fish or fish products - prohibited throughout the Town.

STORAGE (Pages 23, 24)

Outdoor storage—SUP in LI; all other zones are No.

Mini/Self Storage General Personal Storage—SUP in Business with size and aesthetics considerations; Village District SUP with size and height restrictions; all other zones are No.

Contractor Storage with Office—SUP in Business; SUP in LI; all other zones are No.

Business Storage/Wholesale sales (no retail sales) and E-Business—Business and LB-R, SUP; all other zones are No.

Storage of Hazardous or flammable materials - prohibited throughout the Town of Exeter.

DISTRIBUTION (Page 24)

Freight, trucking, bus terminals—No in all zones.

Warehouse distribution center—RE-2 *Yes with (O) approved overlay otherwise NO. O-Eligible for an overlay Site Readiness analysis Comprehensive Plan Exeter 2044—187 acres Rt. 102 and Route 3 and I-9 interchange; Business *Y with (O) approved overlay otherwise NO; LI SUP with aesthetic design.

E-commerce distribution, Fulfillment Third Party logistics operation—RE-2 *Y with (O) approved overlay otherwise NO; Business *Y with (O) approved overlay otherwise NO.

UTILITIES (Pages 25, 26)

Private cellular communications antenna on existing nonresidential principal or accessory structure; Private cellular communications antenna on existing residential principal or accessory structure; Public cellular communications antenna on existing nonresidential structure; Amateur radio station broadcast antenna under 70 feet in height; Receiving antenna under 70 feet in height—are all Yes with a 70’ maximum antenna height.

Other communications tower, including broadcast TV or radio—No in Residential zones; Yes, in B, LB-R and LI; OS/PL, No; LC, SUP; DM, No; PVOD, No.

Cellular communications tower—No in Residential zones; Yes, in B, LB-R, and LI; LC, SUP; DM, No; PVOD, No.

Fossil fuel or nuclear power plant - prohibited throughout the Town of Exeter. Other utility structure, as indicated. Bioreactor - prohibited throughout the Town of Exeter. Heliport/Airport - prohibited throughout the Town.

MANUFACTURING (Pages 26, 27)

Farm brewery and/or winery without food service—RE-2, No; RU-3, RU-4, CR-5, SUP; Business, SUP (if farming); LB-R, SUP (if farming); LI, No; OS/PS, GWOL, DM, PVOD, No; LC, Yes.

Farm brewery and/or winery with limited food service café— (Later discussion)

Farm brewery and/or winery with restaurant— (Later discussion)

Brewery or distillery—Residential zones, No; Business, Yes; LB-R, No; LI, Yes.

Processing of fish or shellfish—Prohibited throughout the Town of Exeter.

Rendering of fats and oil—Prohibited throughout the Town of Exeter.

Manufacturing of solvents—Prohibited throughout the Town of Exeter.

Machinery manufacturing—Business, No; LB-R, No; LI, SUP

Equipment manufacturing—Business, No; LB-R, No; LI, SUP

Pharmaceutical, chemical products—Prohibited throughout the Town of Exeter.

Paper mill (manufacturer of paper products)—Prohibited throughout the Town of Exeter.

INDUSTRIAL (Pages 27, 28)

Print Shop—Business, yes; LB-R, yes; LI, Yes

Metal Fabrication—Business, Yes; LB-R, Yes; LI, Yes

Scientific or research laboratory—No across the board, with the exception of the Ladd Center.

Woodworking or furniture refinishing shop—RE-2, No; RU-3, RU-4, CR-5, Business, LB-R and LI, Yes; No in OS/PL, GWOL, LC, PVOD; and Yes in DM.

Wood processing (Later discussion)

Millwork—No in Residential; Yes in Business, LB-R and LI

Sawmill—As is.

Mulch Compost, Potting soil—No in Residential; remaining zones as is.

Extractive industry, including petroleum, water, gravel, and sandbanks—Prohibited throughout.

Crematorium—Prohibited throughout the Town of Exeter.

Commercial Composting—Prohibited throughout the Town of Exeter.

Data Center—Prohibited throughout the Town of Exeter.

Septic pumping business—Yes in Business, LB and LI only.

INDUSTRIAL – NOXIOUS (Page 28)

Solid waster facility, including sorting, recycling, landfill, ad incineration; Sanitary sewage disposal service; Refining of oil products; Wastewater treatment facility; Wood waste products; Refining of oil products; all prohibited throughout the Town of Exeter.

SOLAR (Page 29)

As is throughout with required standards and/or prerequisites.

WIND SYSTEMS (Page 29)

Small wind turbine—Yes throughout.

Large wind turbine—No throughout the Town of Exeter.

MARIJUANA RELATED FACILITIES (Page 29, 30)

Compassion Center as indicated.

Medical marijuana cultivation center—No, except for Business, Yes; LB-R, SUP; Yes in LI.

Nonresidential cooperative cultivation as indicated.

Residential cooperative cultivation as indicated.

Patient cultivation as indicated.

Marijuana cultivation center as indicated.

Marijuana store—No, except for Business, Yes; LB-R, Yes, LI, Yes.

ACCESSORY USES (Page 30)

Sign accessory to primary use as indicated.

Swimming pool as indicated.

Electric vehicle charging as indicated.

Accessory use as indicated.

Anchored storage containers to be removed.

Unanchored storage containers—prohibited throughout the Town of Exeter.

Drive-thru as indicated.

Vehicle towing—as indicated, except Yes in both Business and Light Industrial.

Discussion ensued around vehicle storage; onsite vehicle storage allowed only in Light Industrial.

Board member Robert Corriea asked to re-visit the size of farm stands being limited to 200 square feet.  Discussion ensued.  Bill DePasquale added that this was changed to 2,000 square feet under retail, trade or garden center on major arterial roads (neighborhood establishment) on pg.17.  Further discussion ensued around changing the 200 sq. ft. to 400 sq. ft. on page 7 – a roadside stand, not to exceed 400 square feet for the sale of agricultural products and crafts as an accessory use.

B.      Continued Discussion and/or Possible Action: Draft Changes to the Zoning Use Table, Exeter Zoning Ordinance Article II, Section 2.4 – with specific discussion regarding short term rental use.

Chairman DeFrancesco introduced this agenda item and asked Town Planner William DePasquale to review his findings on this topic. The Planner reviewed his memorandum entitled: Short Term Rentals, dated: October 2, 2024, in which he addressed short-term rentals in the current and future ordinance(s) for the Town of Exeter. He indicated that the Town aims to safeguard public health, safety, and welfare by overseeing the short-term rental of residential units. That regulations will be put in place to minimize the risk of groundwater and surface water pollution, noise disturbances, parking issues, and disorderly conduct by tenants. All while protecting water resources, mitigating potential negative impacts on the community’s well-being, while also allowing for some flexibility in the housing stock to provide safe accommodations for travelers.

The Planner reviewed his concept(s) for Zoning and LDR structure changes and outlined his proposed process for addressing short-term rentals in the current and future ordinance. The Planner proposed an actual definition for short-term rentals; adding an actual use code 42(a)-short term rentals and requiring Special Use Permits and Minor Land Development Projects before the Planning Board within RU-3, RU-4 and CR-5. For detailed information see the Planner’s October 2, 2024 memo on Short Term Rentals.

Assistant Town Solicitor Kenneth J. Sylvia, Esq., was recognized and informed the Board that on October 2, 2024, Associate Justice Sarah Taft-Carter of the Rhode Island Superior Court granted a temporary restraining order preventing the Town of Narragansett from enforcing its new short-term rental ordinance. (Narragansett 2100, Inc. v. Town of Narragansett, No. WC-2024-0372, 2024 R.I. Super. LEXIS 93, Super. Ct. Oct. 2, 2024). In doing so, she issued a written decision that calls into serious question the ability of the Town to regulate short-term rentals at all.

Attorney Sylvia noted that there is a lot of activity on this topic and stated that the only two options that seem more likely than not to be constitutional are to either permit short-term rentals with no regulations whatsoever or prohibit short-term rentals entirely. He went on to note that the Planning Board, and ultimately the Town Council, will need to decide if Exeter should take on the expense of defining the edges of short-term rental law in Rhode Island.

Chairman DeFrancesco felt it would be wise to have something in the ordinance to protect the Town.

Vice Chair Gina Thurn asked if we prohibit short-term rentals in the Town’s ordinances, what would happen to those already existing. Attorney Sylvia indicated that they would have grandfathered rights. Those doing it without a special use permit, the position the Town could take is that they have not legally established the use, so they would not have any rights vested and would be subject to a notice of violation.   

Board member Robert Corriea made a motion to prohibit short-term rentals from the Zoning Use Table in the Town of Exeter; Bill Haas seconded the motion. A vote was taken and was all in favor, 5-0.  (Michael DeFrancesco, William Haas, Gina Thurn, Joe St. Lawrence, Robert Corriea).  The motion passed.

The Town Planner will send a recommendation to the Town Council on behalf of the Planning Board asking for their approval to amend the Exeter Zoning Ordinance. The amendment would add an actual use code for “Short Term Rentals” (STR) to Section 2.4 of the Zoning Use Table, with Short Term Rentals being prohibited in all zoning districts.    

IV.              ADMINISTRATIVE:

A.     Approval of Meeting Minutes:  September 10, 2024 and September 24, 2024

September 10, 2024 Minutes:

Acting Chair DeFrancesco asked for a motion to approve the minutes. Bill Haas made a motion to approve the September 10, 2024 meeting minutes, as submitted. Joe St. Lawrence seconded the motion. A vote was taken and was all in favor, (6-0).  The minutes were approved.

(M. DeFrancesco, G. Thurn, W. Haas, J. St. Lawrence, R. Corriea and D. Di Donato).

September 24, 2024 Minutes:

Acting Chair DeFrancesco asked for a motion to approve the minutes. Bill Haas made a motion to approve the September 24, 2024 meeting minutes, as submitted.  Gina Thurn seconded the motion.  A vote was taken and was all in favor, (6-0).  The minutes were approved. (M. DeFrancesco, G. Thurn, W. Haas, J. St. Lawrence, R. Corriea and D. Di Donato).

B.      Future Meeting: Planning Board Regular Meeting – Tuesday, October 22, 2024 at 6:00 p.m.

The next Work Session on Tuesday, November 12, 2024 at 6:00 p.m.

V.                 ADJOURNMENT:

Motion to adjourn made by Bill Haas, seconded by Gina Thurn; voted all in favor. 

Motion passed.  The meeting adjourned at 8:52 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,  

Rebecca Lukowicz and

M. Dixie Foisy