2017 -- H 6062

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LC002316

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY - FARM CONSERVATION AND

RENEWABLE ENERGY

     

     Introduced By: Representative Teresa A. Tanzi

     Date Introduced: March 31, 2017

     Referred To: House Municipal Government

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Title 2 of the General Laws entitled "AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY"

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is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

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CHAPTER 23.3

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FARM CONSERVATION AND RENEWABLE ENERGY

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     2-23.3-1. Short title.

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     This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Farm Conservation and Renewable

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Energy Act of 2017."

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     2-23.3-2. Legislative findings.

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     The general assembly finds and declares that:

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     (1) Renewable energy facilities can reduce the operating costs of farms and provide

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critical revenue to maintain economically viable agricultural operations;

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     (2) Preserving farmland and strengthening the viability of farming are essential public

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purposes, necessary to the health and welfare of the people of the state;

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     (3) Farms are significant energy consumers and given the size and openness of many of

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Rhode Island's farms, they can be good locations for renewable energy facilities;

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     (4) There is an acute shortage of clean energy available to meet the state's established

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goals for distributed generation;

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     (5) Action must be taken immediately to assure the availability of such clean energy from

 

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local sources; and

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     (6) It is necessary that each city and town provide opportunities for the establishment of

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renewable energy within its borders.

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     2-23.3-3. Definitions.

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     As used in this chapter:

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     (1) "Agricultural product" means the product of the propagation, care, cultivation, raising,

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and harvesting of the products of truck farming, horticulture, turf, viticulture, viniculture,

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floriculture, forestry/tree farming, growing vegetables for farming, livestock, meat, dairy, wool

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and sugar bush or the production of fiber.

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     (2) "Farmer" means the principal person engaged in agricultural operations as indicated

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for income tax purposes who owns, operates or leases farmland.

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     (3) "Farmland" means any tract(s) of land, exclusive of a house site, that meets any one

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of the following conditions and that has a current U.S. Department of Agriculture conservation

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plan, either applied for or in force within the past ten (10) years:

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     (i) Land that is actively devoted to "agricultural or horticultural use" as set forth in

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"agricultural operations" which includes any commercial enterprise that has as its primary

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purpose horticulture, viticulture, viniculture, floriculture, forestry, stabling of horses, dairy

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farming, or aquaculture, or the raising of livestock, furbearing animals, poultry, or bees;

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     (ii) Land that constitutes a "farm unit" which means land owned by the farmer, including

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woodland and wetlands, at least five (5) acres of which are actively devoted to agricultural and

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horticultural use and which have produced an annual gross income from the sale of its farm

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products of at least two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) in one of the two (2) preceding

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years;

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     (iii) Land that is actively devoted to agricultural and horticultural use by a "subsistence

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farmer" who derives their primary means of sustenance from the consumption of agricultural

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products grown on their land where non-farm related income from the land must be low enough

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to make the property eligible for assistance under title 20 programs; or

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     (iv) Land that meets the qualifications for payments from the federal government for a

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conservation set aside, or that has a combination of income, crop and acreage that, in the Rhode

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Island department of environmental management ("RIDEM") director of agriculture's opinion,

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qualifies the land as a farm.

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     (4) "Flicker" means alternating changes in light intensity caused when the moving blades

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of a wind turbine cast periodic shadows on restricted openings such as windows on structures.

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     (5) "Livestock" means horses, cows, sheep, poultry or bees or other living creatures kept

 

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for use and profit.

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     (6) "Lot coverage" means the percentage of the lot area covered by any building or

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structure when viewed in horizontal plan view.

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     (7) "Renewable energy facility" means a facility that supplies energy, including, but not

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limited to, electrical and thermal energy, from a renewable energy resource as defined in §39-26-

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5.

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     2-23.3-4. Renewable energy facilities as a permitted accessory use on farmland.

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     (a) Commencing August 1, 2017, renewable energy facilities shall be a permitted

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accessory use, as defined by §45-24-31, on farmland of at least fifteen (15) contiguous acres, that

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is not protected, preserved, or otherwise designated under chapter 27 of title 44, chapter 82 of title

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42, chapter 39 of title 34, or chapter 36 of title 45. This provision is not intended to preclude

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future protection of farmland with accessory renewable energy facilities.

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     (b) All renewable energy projects proposed under this chapter must meet the following

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siting and operating standards:

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     (1) The facility shall have a lot coverage of not more than twenty percent (20%) of the

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farmland's total land area;

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     (2) Power distribution lines shall be located underground, unless the electric distribution

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company or site characteristics do not allow;

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     (3) The facility shall not:

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     (i) Be constructed, installed or modified as provided in this section without first

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undergoing municipal site plan review and obtaining a building permit;

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     (ii) Interfere unduly with the current and future agricultural use of the farmland, beyond

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as would ordinarily be anticipated with the types of uses contemplated by this chapter;

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     (iii) Be inconsistent with the restrictions set forth in any conservation easement, if

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applicable; or

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     (iv) Interfere with state, local, or federal restrictions placed on funds used to purchase a

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conservation easement on any portion of the farmland, if applicable;

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     (4) With respect to any wind facility, the facility shall comply with the following siting

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guidelines:

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     (i) Siting in a manner that minimizes any sound impacts on surrounding properties and

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does not exceed the maximum permissible sound requirements in the applicable zone at

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surrounding properties lines;

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     (ii) Siting in a manner that minimizes flicker on surrounding properties. Flicker will be

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limited to no more than thirty (30) hours per year, using real-case scenario modeling, at occupied

 

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structures or sites permitted for occupied structures under construction at the time of construction

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of the wind facility, excluding any structures located on the farmland; and

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     (iii) Setbacks shall be at least the turbine height plus applicable municipal zoning

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setbacks from all property lines except those properties owned, leased or controlled by an

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easement benefitting the project developer;

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     (5) With respect to any solar facility, the owner of the facility shall ensure that:

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     (i) The land beneath any solar panel or array remains useable for one or more agricultural

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purposes including, but not limited to, grazing, beekeeping, or growing crops;

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     (ii) Reseeding underneath the solar facility is done with grass or low growth vegetation is

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listed in the University of Rhode Island's native plant database and that any invasive species are

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controlled or eliminated, to the extent practicable without the use of herbicides;

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     (iii) Any stormwater generated from the solar facility is managed in accordance with the

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RIDEM's stormwater manual, prioritizing green infrastructure best management practices;

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     (iv) Siting of solar facilities is designed to minimize soil disturbance to prime and

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important farmland as listed by the natural resources conservation service and Rhode Island

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department of administration's division of planning through the use of pile driven or ballast block

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footings, only, whichever is more appropriate for the site; and

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     (v) A vegetated buffer consisting of plants listed in the University of Rhode Island's

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native plant database surrounds the perimeter to serve as a visual screen of the installation to the

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extent practicable.

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     (6) Any facility located within a special flood hazard area as defined by the Federal

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Emergency Management Agency shall be anchored in a manner sufficient to resist collapse,

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flotation, or movement during flood or storm events;

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     (7) Clearing of natural vegetation from the farmland shall be limited to what is necessary

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for the construction, operation and maintenance of the facility;

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     (8) No topsoil shall be disturbed or removed from the farmland except as is necessary for

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the installation of the facility, nor shall the site of the facility be covered with gravel with the

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exception of access and maintenance roads.

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     2-23.3-5. Removal requirements.

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     (a) Any renewable energy facility that has reached the end of its useful life or has been

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abandoned on farmland shall be decommissioned no more than one hundred and eighty (180)

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days after the date of discontinued operations.

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     (b) The owner or operator shall notify the municipality by certified mail of the proposed

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date of discontinued operations and plans for removal. Decommissioning shall consist of:

 

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     (1) Physical removal of all large-scale ground-mounted solar photovoltaic installations,

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structures, equipment, security barriers and transmission lines from the site;

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     (2) Disposal of all solid and hazardous waste in accordance with local, state, and federal

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waste disposal regulations; and

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     (3) Stabilization or re-vegetation of the site as necessary to minimize erosion.

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     (c) The municipality may allow the owner or operator of the facility to leave landscaping

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or designated below-grade foundations in order to minimize erosion and disruption to vegetation.

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     SECTION 2. Section 45-24-37 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-24 entitled "Zoning

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Ordinances" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     45-24-37. General provisions -- Permitted uses. [Effective January 1, 2017.]

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     (a) The zoning ordinance provides a listing of all land uses and/or performance standards

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for uses that are permitted within the zoning use districts of the municipality.

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     (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the following uses are permitted

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uses within all residential zoning use districts of a municipality and all industrial and commercial

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zoning use districts except where residential use is prohibited for public health or safety reasons:

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     (1) Households;

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     (2) Community residences; and

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     (3) Family day care homes.

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     (c) Any time a building or other structure used for residential purposes, or a portion of a

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building containing residential units, is rendered uninhabitable by virtue of a casualty such as fire

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or flood, the owner of the property is allowed to park, temporarily, mobile and manufactured

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home, or homes, as the need may be, elsewhere upon the land, for use and occupancy of the

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former occupants for a period of up to twelve (12) months, or until the building or structure is

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rehabilitated and otherwise made fit for occupancy. The property owner, or a properly designated

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agent of the owner, is only allowed to cause the mobile and manufactured home, or homes, to

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remain temporarily upon the land by making timely application to the local building official for

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the purposes of obtaining the necessary permits to repair or rebuild the structure.

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     (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, appropriate access for people

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with disabilities to residential structures is allowed as a reasonable accommodation for any

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person(s) residing, or intending to reside, in the residential structure.

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     (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, an accessory family dwelling

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unit in an owner-occupied, single-family residence shall be permitted as a reasonable

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accommodation for family members with disabilities or who are sixty-two (62) years of age or

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older. The appearance of the structure shall remain that of a single-family residence and there

 

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shall be an internal means of egress between the principal unit and the accessory family dwelling

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unit. If possible, no additional exterior entrances should be added. Where additional entrance is

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required, placement should generally be in the rear or side of the structure. When the structure is

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serviced by an individual, sewage-disposal system, the applicant shall have the existing or any

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new system approved by the department of environmental management. The zoning-enforcement

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officer shall require that a declaration of the accessory family dwelling unit for the family

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member, or members, and its restrictions be recorded in the land-evidence records and filed with

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the zoning-enforcement officer and the building official. Once the family member, or members,

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with disabilities or who are sixty-two (62) years of age or older, no longer reside(s) in the

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premises on a permanent basis, or the title is transferred, the property owner shall notify the

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zoning official in writing, and the accessory family-dwelling unit shall no longer be permitted,

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unless there is a subsequent, valid application.

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     (f) When used in this section the terms "people with disabilities" or "member, or

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members, with disabilities" means a person(s) who has a physical or mental impairment that

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substantially limits one or more major life activities, as defined in § 42-87-1(7) of the general

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laws.

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     (g) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, plant agriculture is a permitted

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use within all zoning districts of a municipality, including all industrial and commercial zoning

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districts, except where prohibited for public health or safety reasons or the protection of wildlife

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habitat.

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     (h) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, renewable energy facilities are a

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permitted accessory use for all farmland of at least fifteen (15) contiguous acres, pursuant to

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chapter 23.3 of title 2.

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     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY - FARM CONSERVATION AND

RENEWABLE ENERGY

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     This act would provide for the siting and operating standards for farm-based renewable

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energy facilities.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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