Chapter 18.36 SPECIAL REGULATIONS

18.36.010 Number of residential structures on a lot.

18.36.020 Vision clearance at corners.

18.36.030 Mobile or manufactured home park.

18.36.040 Accessory dwelling units.

18.36.045 Accessory family dwelling units.

18.36.050 Home-based businesses.

18.36.060 Keeping of horses as an accessory use.

18.36.070 Reserved.

18.36.080 Indoor shooting ranges.

18.36.090 Vehicle service stations and automobile body and repair shops.

18.36.100 Standards for developments with multi-family buildings.

18.36.110 Adult entertainment businesses.

18.36.120 Repealed 7/25/17.

18.36.130 Commercial vehicles in residential zoning districts.

18.36.140 Farmers’ markets.

18.36.010 Number of principal residential structures on a lot. Not more than one principal structure used for residential purposes shall be built on any lot in a residential district, except in approved land development projects.

(Ord. dated 12-19-94(part); Ord. dated 5-2-06; Ord. dated 11-19-13)

18.36.020 Vision clearance at corners. On any corner lot and at street intersections in all districts, no wall, fence, structure or building shall be erected, and no hedge, tree, shrub or other vegetation shall be maintained between the heights of three (3) feet and ten (10) feet above the street level within the triangle formed by the lines of the near edge of the pavement or travel surface of the two streets and a third line joining points on those street lines forty-five (45) feet from their intersection. See Figure 1.

(Ord. dated 12-19-94 (part); Ord. dated 9-7-10; Ord. dated 11-19-13)

18.36.020 Figure I

18.36.030 Trailers or mobile homes.

A. Trailers or mobile homes shall not be permitted to be used as dwellings except in trailer or mobile home parks.

B. Mobile or manufactured home parks shall be limited to age restricted housing for persons fifty–five years or older in a manner that complies with 42 U.S.C.A. §3607 and 24 CFR § 100.304.

C. The following shall apply to mobile or manufactured home parks:

1. The minimum parcel size shall be thirty (30) acres.

2. A vegetative landscaped buffer of at least one hundred (100) feet shall abut all exterior lot lines except at street entrances where the vegetation would limit vision clearance.

3. Twenty five percent (25%) of land suitable for development as defined in section 3.3 of the land development and subdivision regulations shall be developed for on-site recreation.

4. The number of homes shall not exceed two (2) units per acre of land suitable for development as defined in section 3.3 of the land development and subdivision regulations.

5. Each mobile home site shall be a minimum of six thousand (6,000) square feet and contain two off-street parking spaces.

6. Uses and structures that are accessory to the principal residential use, including but not limited to parking areas, equipment and service buildings, management offices, and indoor and outdoor recreation facilities, are permitted.

7. Trash storage areas, loading areas, and utility facilities shall be located and constructed in a manner that minimizes noise, odor, and visual impacts to the park residents and abutters.

8. Utilities shall be underground.

9. Mobile or manufactured home parks shall be served by public water if public water can be provided without extending a water main. If public water cannot be provided, water shall be supplied by a community well. A copy of the well completion and water testing reports, verifying that there is suitable water quality and capacity for the development, shall be submitted to the building official before any certificate of occupancy is issued.

10. Wastewater shall be treated with shared onsite treatment systems or a privately owned sewage treatment facility.

(Ord. dated 12-19-94 (part); Ord. dated 11-19-13)

18.36.040 Accessory dwelling units.

A. In order to contribute to the provision of more affordable dwelling units, the zoning board of review may issue a special use permit for an accessory dwelling unit located on the same lot as a principal single-household dwelling, provided that the property owner proves by competent legal evidence that the following conditions will be satisfied:

1. The accessory dwelling unit shall be attached to the principal dwelling unit or shall be located in an accessory building on the same lot. If the accessory dwelling unit is located in a different structure from the principal dwelling unit, the accessory dwelling unit shall not have accessory dwelling units of its own;

2. The lot on which the accessory dwelling unit is located shall comply with the lot area, lot width, and lot frontage requirements for the principal dwelling. The accessory dwelling unit shall comply with the front yard, side yard, rear yard, and lot area coverage requirements for the zoning district;

3. The accessory dwelling unit shall be designed and constructed in a manner that maintains the appearance of the property as a single-household dwelling;

4. The accessory dwelling unit shall have a kitchen, sanitary facilities, and entrance separate from those of the principal dwelling;

5. An accessory dwelling unit shall not be located in, or on the same lot as, a duplex or multi-household structure, a mobile home, a mobile home park, a hotel or motel, or a rooming house or boarding house;

6. The accessory dwelling unit shall contain no more than fifty percent of the floor area of the principal dwelling, not including basements, attics, garages, and unenclosed porches, or a maximum of one thousand square feet, whichever is smaller.

B. An accessory dwelling unit shall be in the same ownership as the principal dwelling. The accessory dwelling unit must be rented to, or occupied by, one or more members of the family of the occupant of the principal dwelling unit, or it must be reserved for rental occupancy while the principal dwelling unit is occupied by the owner of the property.

C. Before a building permit or a certificate of use and occupancy is issued for an accessory dwelling unit, the property owner shall submit to the building official a certification from the R.I. department of environmental management that the onsite wastewater treatment system serving the property will adequately accommodate the accessory dwelling unit.

D. An accessory dwelling unit existing at the time of enactment of this section may be occupied provided that it complies with this section, and provided that the building official has issued a certificate of use and occupancy for it.

E. Notwithstanding the use restrictions elsewhere in this title, accessory dwelling units are permitted by right on farm lots in residential compounds and in conservation developments in the agricultural overlay district in order to encourage affordable dwellings and maintain the rural character of family farms. All of the other criteria in this section for establishment of accessory dwelling units shall apply to accessory dwelling units on agricultural farm lots in residential compounds and conservation developments.

(Ord. dated 9-21-04 (part); Ord. dated 9-7-10; Ord. dated 11-19-13; Ord. dated 5-16-17)

REFERENCES

Code §§ 18.41.080, 18.45.050, ch. 18.46; land development and subdivision regulations §§ 4.1, 4.2.

18.36.045 Accessory family dwelling units. An accessory family dwelling unit, as that term is defined in Ch. 18.08 of this Title, is a permitted use in all zoning districts, provided that the following conditions are satisfied:

A. The accessory family dwelling unit must be connected to and accessible from the principal single-family dwelling unit.

B. The accessory family dwelling unit must be occupied by a family member of the owner of the principal dwelling unit. The family member must be 62 years old or older or have a disability that substantially limits one major life activity, as defined by R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-87-1(7).

C. Before a building permit is issued for a new accessory family dwelling unit, the property owner must submit to the building official a certification from the R.I. department of environmental management that the onsite wastewater treatment system serving the property will adequately accommodate the accessory family dwelling unit.

D. Before the accessory family dwelling unit is occupied, the property owner must record a declaration of accessory family dwelling unit in the land evidence records and must provide copies of the recorded document to the building official and the zoning enforcement officer. The declaration must describe the restrictions imposed on the use by this Title.

E. When the property is conveyed to a new owner or the occupants of the accessory family dwelling unit no longer reside in it, use of the living area as an accessory family dwelling unit is no longer permitted. The use may be resumed only by the recording of a new declaration of accessory family dwelling unit.

(Ord. dated 5-16-17)

REFERENCES

R.I. Gen. Laws § 45-24-37(e) and (f); code ch. 18.08.

18.36.050 Home-based businesses.

A. A home-based business shall be permitted within a principal residence, or in an accessory structure on the same lot as the principal residence, if it meets all of the requirements of this section.

B. The home-based business shall be:

1. Conducted as an accessory use to the principal residential use, and clearly incidental and secondary to the principal residential use;

2. Conducted by a resident of the principal residential use who may not employ more than one person who is not a resident of the principal residence.

C. The property used for a home-based business shall satisfy the following requirements:

1. The home-based business shall occupy no more than 300 square feet of floor space.

2. The home-based business shall be conducted entirely inside a structure.

3. There shall be no exterior evidence that the residence is being used for a home-based business. Exterior displays, exterior signs other than those permitted under Chapter 18.24 of this Title, and exterior storage of material are prohibited.

4. The home-based business shall produce no offensive noise, vibration, smoke, dust, glare, odor, or excessive heat.

5. Traffic shall not be generated in greater volume than would be customary for a residence.

6. No direct retail sales are permitted.

7. A commercial vehicle or equipment used in the business may be parked, kept, or stored on the lot provided it is not visible from the street or abutting properties.

D. More than one home-based business may be conducted on a lot provided that each business meets the requirements of this section and that the combined area of the businesses occupy a total of no more than 300 square feet of floor space.

(Ord. dated 5-2-06; ord. dated 7-17-07; ord. dated 11-19-13)

18.36.060 Keeping of horses as an accessory use.

A. Keeping of horses and other equine species is permitted as an accessory use if the following requirements are satisfied:

1. The horse or horses must be kept as an accessory to, and clearly incidental to, a principal residential use.

2. The horse or horses must be kept in compliance with Chapter 18.30 of this Title and Chapter 6.18 of the Code of Ordinances.

B. No boarding of animals for compensation, riding instruction for compensation, or breeding of animals for sale shall be permitted as an accessory use to a principal residential use.

(Ord. dated 11-19-13)

18.36.070 Reserved.

18.36.080 Indoor shooting ranges.

A. An indoor shooting range shall be entirely enclosed and shall be located in a free-standing building constructed with sufficient noise and reverberation mitigation so that the sound at any point within ten (10) feet of the exterior of the building does not exceed sixty (60) decibels.

(Ord. dated 11-19-13)

18.36.090 Vehicle service stations, automotive repair, and vehicle body repair.

A. In vehicle service stations and in facilities offering automotive or vehicle body repair, all services except fuel sales shall take place inside an enclosed building. Parts, supplies, and equipment stored outdoors, and vehicles parked outdoors overnight or longer, shall be screened by a dense evergreen buffer at least ten (10) feet deep.

B. A vehicle service station shall be separated from any abutting residential zoning district or any abutting property with residential, educational, recreational, cultural, or religious uses by a buffer at least one hundred (100) feet deep that includes a solid wall or fence or a dense evergreen hedge.

C. The application for a special use permit or development plan review shall include a detailed plan explaining how lubricants and fuel oils will be stored to prevent soil, ground water, and surface water contamination.

D. Fuel pump islands shall be located in the rear yard and shall be set back at least fifteen (15) feet from all property lines.

E. Service bay doors shall not face any adjacent public street.

(Ord. dated 11-19-13)

18.36.100 Standards for developments with multi-family buildings.

A. A development with one or more multi-family buildings must be approved as a land development project. The maximum number of dwelling units shall be determined by section 3.3 of the land development and subdivision regulations.

B. A development with more than one multi-family building may be designed as a conservation development according to section 18.41.030 of this Title.

C. No multi-family building shall have an average of more than two bedrooms per dwelling unit. No multi-family building of any size shall contain more than one three-bedroom dwelling unit.

D. A development with more than one multi-family building shall be served by public water if public water can be provided without extending a water main. If public water cannot be provided, water shall be supplied by a community well.

E. The following dimensional regulations shall apply to use code 104, multi-family buildings with three or four dwelling units, in the R-1 and R-2 zoning districts.

Lot Size in acres

equal to 43,560 s.f.

Lot frontage (feet)

Front yard depth (feet)

Rear yard depth (feet)

Side yard depth (feet)

300

100

Maximum building lot coverage	Maximum height - main structure (feet)	Maximum height - accessory structure (feet)	Side and rear yard depth - accessory structure (feet)
10%	35	25	20

F. In the General Business zoning district, lots used solely for use codes 101 through 106 in Sec. 18.16.010 on the date of enactment of this section may continue to be used solely for single-family, two-family, and multi-family uses, notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, provided that for new construction, residential density shall be no more than four dwelling units per acre. Lots in the General Business zoning district not used solely for use codes 101 through 106 in Sec. 18.16.010 on the date of enactment of this section must contain both non-residential uses and residential multi-family uses at a density of no more than four dwelling units per acre.

G. This Chapter does not apply to residential development in the PUD-VC zoning district, which is regulated by section 18.42.040 of this Title.

(Ord. dated 11-19-13; Ord. dated 6-16-15; Ord. dated 1-2-18)

18.36.110 Adult entertainment businesses. A building containing an adult entertainment business shall be located no closer than 1500 feet to a structure in which a residential use (use codes 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 112, 114, 116), a place of worship (use code 444), a school (use codes 301, 302, 303, 306), or a recreational use (use codes 402, 406, 408, 409, 410, 414, 420, 424, 432, 434, 436, 1015, 1020, 1025, 1040) is located.

(Ord. dated 11-19-13; Ord. dated 5-16-17)

18.36.130 Commercial vehicles in residential zoning districts. A commercial vehicle classified by the U.S. department of transportation in classes 6 through 8 with a gross vehicle weight of more than 19,500 pounds shall not be parked or stored in a residential zoning district unless the vehicle is directly related to a permitted use, a special permit use, or a legal nonconforming use of the property.

(Ord. dated 5-16-17)

18.36.140 Farmers’ markets. The following development standards shall apply to farmers’ markets.

A. The site on which a farmers’ market is located shall have at least 20,000 square feet of contiguous undeveloped area.

B. The site on which a farmers’ market is located shall have frontage on an arterial street or a collector street as those terms are defined in Section 13.4.1 of the land development and subdivision regulations.

C. Any number of temporary signs associated with the market may be displayed at the site of the market during the hours the market is open.

D. The sponsoring organization shall be responsible for insuring that all refuse is removed from the site and properly disposed of at the end of each day the market is open.

E. No farmers’ market shall open earlier that 7:00 a.m. or close later than 8:00 p.m.

F. A farmers’ market may be located on the site of a legal nonconforming use or a special permit use without obtaining a special use permit, notwithstanding the provisions of Section 18.48.040(A) or 18.52.060(C) of this Title.

G. A site on which the farmers’ market will be located must receive development plan approval pursuant to Chapter 18.54 of this Title.

1. Application fees, including the pre-application conference fee and the base fee, shall not exceed a total of five hundred dollars ($500), notwithstanding the provisions of section 18.54.050 of this Title.

2. The administrative officer shall have the authority to waive or modify any requirement of Chapter 18.54 or the checklist contained in Article 15 of the land development and subdivision regulations with respect to the information and documents an applicant must submit if, in his or her professional opinion, the information or document is not necessary for a comprehensive review. The planning board shall have the authority to request submission of any information or document omitted from the application pursuant to this subsection.

3. The planning board must find that adequate off-street parking will be available and that the site is arranged for safe vehicle and pedestrial circulation. If the farmers’ market is located in the parking area of an existing permanent use, adequate parking must be available for the farmers’ market as well as for the permanent use if it is open during the hours the farmers’ market is open.

(Ord. dated 5-16-17)