2023 -- H 5937

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LC001839

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- ZONING ORDINANCES

     Introduced By: Representatives Speakman, Kislak, Potter, and Cruz

     Date Introduced: March 01, 2023

     Referred To: House Municipal Government & Housing

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Chapter 45-24 of the General Laws entitled "Zoning Ordinances" is hereby

amended by adding thereto the following section:

     45-24-77. Transit-oriented housing development.

     (a) In order to increase the availability of residential housing near convenient public transit,

alleviating traffic congestion as well as facilitating the goals of the state’s 2021 act on climate, there

is hereby established a program for transit-oriented housing development.

     (b) Any municipality that contains a regional mobility hub or frequent transit stop, each as

defined by the 2020 Rhode Island transit master plan or its successor document, shall create a

transit-oriented development district for the site according to the requirements set forth in this

section.

     (1) For the purposes of this section, a transit-oriented development district consists of a

zoning-use or overlay district of a municipality in which the residential uses are permitted by right

at a minimum gross density of at least ten (10) units per acre. For any district whose pre-existing

or underlying zoning would have already satisfied the aforementioned threshold, and the district is

served by public water and sewer, the requirement shall be a net addition of ten (10) dwelling units

per acres or a minimum gross density of at least twenty-five (25) units per acres, whichever is less.

The district shall consist of either:

     (i) All developable land within a one-quarter (0.25) mile radius of the regional mobility

hub or a one-eighth (0.125) mile radius of the frequent transit stop, as applicable; or

     (ii) At least an equivalent amount of developable land, arranged in a district located not

more than one-half (0.5) of a mile from the regional mobility hub or one-quarter (0.25) of a mile

from the frequent transit stop, as applicable.

     (2) For the purposes of this section, distance shall be measured based on the shortest

distance between any point on a lot, or within a district, and the regional mobility hub or frequent

transit stop, as applicable.

     (3) Any municipality that is required to adopt multiple transit-oriented development

districts under this section may satisfy the applicable minimum requirements by averaging the gross

density of the residential uses permitted across all of its districts.

     (4) For purposes of this section, “developable land” means all developable public land, as

defined in subsection (b)(5) of this section and all privately-owned land, except those lots or

portions of lots that are excluded land, as defined in subsection (b)(6) of this section.

     (5) For the purposes of this section, “developable public land” means any publicly owned

land that:

     (i) Has been designated by the public owner for disposition and redevelopment;

     (ii) Is used by a housing authority established pursuant to chapters 25 or 26 of title 45; or

     (iii) Has been identified as a site for residential development pursuant to § 45-22-6(b)(6).

     (6) For the purposes of this section, “excluded land” means land area on which it is

impossible or impractical to construct residential dwellings. Excluded land includes:

     (i) All publicly owned land, except for lots or portions of lots determined to be developable

public land;

     (ii) Any rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, or other surface watercourses and waterbodies;

     (iii) Any freshwater wetlands and freshwater wetland buffers regulated pursuant to § 2-1-

20.1;

     (iv) Any coastal buffer zones, erosion-oriented setbacks, or freshwater wetlands in the

vicinity of the coast regulated pursuant to chapter 23 of title 46;

     (v) Any open space and recreational land that is legally protected in perpetuity such as land

owned by land trusts or land that is subject to a conservation restriction, or that is likely to remain

undeveloped due to functional or traditional use, such as cemeteries;

     (vi) Any roadway, railway, public right-of-way, or private right-of-way;

     (vii) Any privately-owned land on which development is prohibited to protect public or

private water supplies;

     (viii) Any lot characterized by a ledge or steep slope of fifteen percent (15%) or more in

grade change;

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     (ix) Any special flood hazard areas, as defined by the Federal Emergency Management

Agency and any other areas subject to regular flood inundation; and

     (x) Any privately-owned land used for educational or institutional uses, such as hospitals,

prisons, museums, electric, water, wastewater or other utilities or private schools, colleges or

universities.

     (7) A transit-oriented development district adopted under this section shall incorporate

reduced or eliminated standards for the mandatory provision of off-street vehicle parking for any

residential, commercial, or other development project located within the district. A municipality

may still impose requirements concerning the design of off-street vehicle parking; maximum

limitations on off-street vehicle parking; and requirements for the provision of bicycle storage and

parking.

     (8) The Rhode Island public transit authority created under § 39-18-2 shall notify the

department of housing, the statewide division of planning, the department of transportation, and

any affected municipality of the implementation of any transit site that will trigger requirements

under this section.

     (c) The department of housing shall promulgate rules and regulations for the program that

address when a municipality shall be considered in compliance with this section and the process by

which municipal compliance shall be certified.

     (1) If a municipality fails to achieve or maintain compliance with this section as required

by rule or regulation, the department of housing is hereby empowered and directed to design and

implement the transit-oriented development districts on behalf of the municipality.

     (2) The department of housing shall adopt a design plan for the districts through the

rulemaking process prescribed by chapter 35 of title 42. The adoption of a plan by the department

shall, for all purposes, be deemed to be the action of the municipality, including, as applicable, the

actions of a planning board established pursuant to chapter 22 of title 45; a zoning board established

pursuant to chapter 24 of title 45; a historic district commission established pursuant to chapter

24.1 of title 45; or a redevelopment plan review body established pursuant to § 45-24-49; and is

enforceable by an action brought in superior court in the county in which the municipality is

located.

     (3) The department shall review and approve or deny any application for a development

proposed within the district while the department retains authority over the district. In order to carry

out its duties, the department shall adopt, through regular rulemaking, a single process by which

the department shall review any application submitted within a transit-oriented development

district, regardless of the district’s location. The process shall be publicly accountable and

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transparent.

     (4) The department, in its discretion, may return some or all authority over a district to a

municipality upon entering into a compliance agreement that ensures the satisfaction of the

requirements of this section.

     (d) The department of transportation established under § 42-13-1 shall support the

implementation of transit-oriented housing development as follows:

     (1) The department of transportation shall undertake research and data collection on all of

the following topics:

     (i) The vehicle miles traveled per capita generated by residential development in different

areas of the state, by municipality and traffic analysis zone;

     (ii) The number, location, and severity of traffic incidents that involve vehicle collisions

with pedestrians or bicycles; and

     (iii) Representative pedestrian and bicycle volume counts for the state’s shared-use paths;

transit-oriented development districts adopted under this section; and very low vehicle travel areas.

A “very low vehicle travel area” means a traffic analysis zone within an urbanized area, as

designated by the United States Census Bureau, where the existing residential development

generates vehicle miles traveled per capita at a level below eighty-five percent (85%) of the vehicle

miles traveled per capita for a municipality as a whole.

     (iv) The department shall annually publish and provide the general assembly with a

dashboard of its research findings.

     (2) The department shall improve the safety and accessibility of state-owned roadways and

transportation facilities for pedestrians, bicyclists, and public transportation users by cooperating

with and prioritizing any request of a municipality to so improve the state-owned roadways and

transportation facilities located within the transit-oriented development districts or very low vehicle

areas of the municipality.

     (i) In implementing the improvements required under this section, the department shall

utilize leading design standards for streets that are safer and more accessible for pedestrians,

bicyclists, and public transportation users, including, but not limited to, the Urban Street Design

Guide of the National Association of City Transportation Users and the published practice

recommendations of the Institute of Transportation Engineers. The department shall design any

such improvements to advance the goals of and utilize the strategies recommended by the state’s

transit master plan and bicycle mobility plan.

     (ii) The department shall approach each transportation improvement and project phase

within its purview as an opportunity to implement the improvements required under this section.

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In the event that the department lacks adequate state resources to implement the required

improvements, the department shall seek and/or allocate federal funds that may be used for this

purpose.

     (iii) The department shall maintain on its website a list of the improvements that it has

undertaken pursuant to the requirements of this section.

     (e) The implementation of this section by the state and its municipalities shall be supported

by a dedicated annual surcharge on the registration of passenger vehicles that, by virtue of their

heavier weight, produce the greatest relative share of carbon emissions as well as wear on the state

and local highways.

     (1) The surcharge shall be administered as follows:

     (i) One hundred seventy-five dollars ($175), for any vehicle between three thousand five

hundred (3,500) and four thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine (4,999) pounds in weight;

     (ii) Two hundred fifty dollars ($250), for any vehicle between five thousand (5,000) and

five thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine (5,999) pounds in weight; and

     (iii) Five hundred dollars ($500), for any vehicle that exceeds six thousand (6,000) pounds

in weight.

     (2) The fee schedule established in subsection (e)(1) of this section shall not apply to any

registrant who may claim three (3) or more dependents or who qualifies for a disability parking

placard based on mobility disability. The registrant of a vehicle powered in whole or in part by a

storage battery is entitled to deduct one thousand pounds (1,000 lbs.) in vehicle weight for purposes

of calculating the applicable fee.

     (3) The proceeds of the surcharge, subsequent to collection by the division of motor

vehicles, shall be distributed as follows:

     (i) Twenty percent (20%) to the statewide division of planning to fund activities, including

technical assistance grants to municipalities, related to issues of housing, land use and climate

adaptation;

     (ii) Eighty percent (80%) to the Rhode Island public transit authority to fund

implementation of the state’s transit master plan and bicycle mobility plan, with particular attention

to any transit-oriented development districts adopted under this section.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- ZONING ORDINANCES

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     This act would establish a transit-oriented housing development program which would

require all municipalities that contain a regional mobility hub or frequent transit stop to create a

transit-oriented development district for development of housing, and would permit the state to use

public and private lands to develop these districts. It would also permit the state department of

housing, if a municipality is not in compliance with this act, to take control over subject property

in the municipality and design and implement the transit-oriented development districts within the

municipality. Any actions by the department would, by the process, become the actions of the

municipal departments including, the planning board, zoning board, historical commissions and

development plan review bodies. The act would also require the department of transportation to

collect data as to vehicle miles traveled in the state and municipalities, and improve the safety of

transportation facilities for pedestrians and bicyclists. Under this act, the program would be funded,

in part, by an annual tax on all passenger vehicles registered over three thousand five hundred

pounds (3,500 lbs.) of up to five hundred dollars ($500) per year.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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