New Shoreham Planning Board

Wednesday, December 10, 2025, 4:00 P.M.

16 Old Town Road, Town Hall

Block Island, RI 02807

MINUTES

The New Shoreham Planning Board convened for a meeting on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, at 4:00 P.M. at Town Hall, 16 Old Town Road, Block Island, RI.

Present were Chair Margaret Comings, Vice Chair Gail Ballard Hall, William Rose, Clair Comings and Mary Anderson.

Absent: Christopher Willi and Socha Cohen

Also present:	Town Planner Peter Friedrichs and Solicitor Kerin Browning via Zoom
	Jennifer Brady, Zoning Official also present

M. Comings, Chair, opened the meeting at 4:00 pm

1. Public Hearing for Proposed Amendments to New Shoreham Land Development and Subdivision Regulations

Proposed amendments to multiple sections of the New Shoreham Land Development and Subdivision Regulations to bring the regulations into compliance with state law changes effective January 1, 2024.

Proposed amendments include sections that concern: subdivision and land development improvements

§ 903 Improvement Guarantees.

§ 905 Maintenance Guarantees.

§ 906 Acceptance of Improvements.

Proposed Amendments to New Shoreham Land Development and Subdivision Regulations was continued until January 14, 2026, and will be re-advertised.

2. Zoning Ordinance Amendment. Review and Act on amendments. Recommendation to the Town Council including a finding of consistency with the Comprehensive Plan.

· Section 202 Definitions Bedroom and Household and Section 506

Section 304.1 Number of Occupants per Household

Town Planner Peter Friedrichs submitted a memorandum on November 10, 2025, outlining the proposed amendments to Section 202 Definitions Bedroom and Household and Section 506 Section 304.1 Number of Occupants per Household

Mr. Friedrichs presented the proposed revised amendments to the board.

§ 202 Definitions. [Ord. of 4-20-2011, art. 2, § 202; Ord. of 8-17-2011, art. 2, § 202]

A. In the Zoning Ordinance the following words and terms shall have the following meanings:

18.1. BEDROOM — Every dwelling unit shall be assumed to have at least one bedroom. For counting additional bedrooms, the total number of bedrooms shall be calculated as n-1, where n is the number of rooms as follows:

Any room in a residential structure which is greater than 70 square feet in area, which is susceptible to present or future use as a private sleeping area and which satisfies all of the following requirements:

a. Has at least one window that meets the 4.4 square foot minimum size and all other requirements of the "Rhode Island State Building Code SBC-1 or SBC-2";

b. Has at least one interior method of entry and egress, excluding closets and bathrooms, allowing the room to be closed off from the remainder of the residence for privacy; and

c. Is a heated living space that is unrestricted for year-round use. Rooms located below grade that are not recognized as bedrooms by the "Rhode Island State Building Code SBC-1 or SBC-2" are not recognized as bedrooms.

96. HOUSEHOLD — One or more persons living together in a single dwelling unit, with common access to, and common use of, all living and eating areas and all areas and facilities for the preparation and storage of food within the dwelling unit. The term "household unit" shall be synonymous with the term "dwelling unit" for determining the number of such units allowed within any structure on any lot in a zoning district. An individual household shall consist of any one of the following:

a. A family, which may also include servant and employees living with the family; or

b. A person or group of ~~no more than six~~ unrelated persons living together.

§ 304.1 Number of Occupants per Household

The Town of New Shoreham recognizes the allure of Block Island during favorable summer weather and the desire for increased household occupancy during peak times. Overcrowding can negatively impact public health and safety, in particular, as well as the well-being of the town, particularly when occupancy is beyond the design capabilities of household sewage systems. These limits are based on wastewater, plumbing, and building code capacity and apply regardless of the relationships among occupants. For these principal reasons, household occupancy is limited as follows:

A. For households with household plumbing drains not connected to at least an onsite wastewater treatment system (OWTS) approved, installed, and maintained to standards published by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) and the Town of New Shoreham Code of Ordinances, household occupancy is limited to one person per bedroom.

B. For households with all household plumbing drains connected to at least an OWTS approved, installed, and maintained to standards published by RIDEM and the Town of New Shoreham Code of Ordinances, household occupancy consistent with OWTS design is limited to two people per bedroom.

C. For households with all household plumbing drains connected to public sewer, household occupancy is limited to eight people (or fraction thereof) per shower in good working order and ten people (or fraction thereof) per water closet in good working order, not to exceed sixteen people per household.

§ 506 Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems (OWTSs).

C. Definitions

~~BEDROOM~~

~~(1) Has at least one window that meets the 4.4 square foot minimum size and all other requirements of the "Rhode Island State Building Code SBC-1 or SBC-2";~~

~~(2) Has at least one interior method of entry and egress, excluding closets and bathrooms, allowing the room to be closed off from the remainder of the residence for privacy; and~~

(3) Is a heated living space that is unrestricted for year-round use. Rooms located below grade that are not recognized as bedrooms by the "Rhode Island State Building Code SBC-1 or SBC-2" are not recognized as bedrooms under this

Ms. M. Comings made a motion give a favorable recommendation to the Town Council including a finding of consistency with the Comprehensive Plan. Motion was seconded by Ms. Ballard-Hall and the motion passed with a vote of 5-0.

Ayes 5 (M. Comings, Ballard-Hall, Anderson, C. Comings, Rose)

3. Zoning Ordinance Amendment. Review and act on amendments. Recommendation to the Town Council including a finding of consistency with the Comprehensive Plan.

· Section 202 Definitions – Floor Area and Gross Area

· Section 406 Residential Structures meeting Certain Thresholds.

Town Planner Peter Friedrichs submitted a memorandum dated September 29, 2025, outlining the proposed amendments to Development Plan Review.

Mr. Friedrichs presented the proposed amendments to the board and the board discussed the following:

Table

M. Comings, C. Comings, Anderson and Rose were in favor of reducing the numbers slighly. Ballard-Hall was against reducing the numbers. The board continued the matter to Janaury 14, 2026.

4. Zoning Ordinance Amendment. Review and Act amendments regarding Development Plan Review. Recommendation to the Town Council including a finding of consistency with the Comprehensive Plan.

· Sections: 202, 319, 320, 321, 322, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 409, 411, 415, 420, 422, 423, 426, 502, 505, 506, 508, 513, 517, 702, 703, and 704.

Town Planner Peter Friedrichs submitted a memorandum dated November 12, 2025, outlining the proposed amendments to Development Plan Review.

Mr. Friedrichs presented the proposed amendments to the board.

DPR provides for design review of development (e.g. construction of buildings, parking lots, grading, fences, signage, etc.). DPR concerns changes of use with no proposed development, development in urban and growth centers, institutional (hospital and educational) development, and small-scale adaptive reuse projects. Increased clarity surrounding DPR and other Land Development Projects will allow for more efficient growth to occur within Block Island.

The board made a few revisions and will vote on the amendment on January 14, 2026.

5. Zoning Ordinance Amendment. Review and act on amendment to Zoning Ordinance Section 113, Non-Conformance. Recommendation to the Town Council including a finding of consistency with the Comprehensive Plan.

· Section 113

Solicitor Browning gave an overview of a recent RI Supreme Court case regarding non-conformance.

The New Shoreham Zoning Board (“Board”) does not have authority to grant variances to expand or reconstruct a nonconforming structure outside the dimensional requirements of the ordinance. The New Shoreham Zoning Ordinance (“Ordinance”) and the recent Rhode Island Supreme Court decision in R.H. McLeod Family LLC v. Westerly Zoning Board of Review (R.I. 2024) make clear that nonconforming structures must comply with the requirements of the zoning ordinance unless the local ordinance explicitly states that relief may be requested.

The board will review the proposed amendments at the January 14, 2026, meeting.

6. Discuss and Act on the Annual Meeting Schedule for 2026

Ms. M. Comings made a motion to approve the annual meeting schedule for 2026. The motion was seconded by Ms. Anderson and passed with a vote of 5-0.

Ayes 5 (M. Comings, Ballard-Hall, Anderson, C. Comings, Rose)

7. Planning Board and Historic District Commission meeting will be on January 20, 2026

The meeting will be on January 20, 2026.

8. Approval of Minutes

Ms. M. Comings made a motion to approve the minutes of November 12, 2025, November 17, 2025, and October 12, 2025, the motion was seconded by Ms. Anderson and passed with a vote of 5-0.

Ayes 5 (M. Comings, Ballard-Hall, Anderson, C. Comings, Rose)

Ms. M. Comings made a motion to adjourn at 5:05 P.M. The motion was seconded by Ms. Anderson and carried unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,

Jennifer Brady

Administrative Officer

Zoning Official