Chapter 401
2011 -- H 5707 AS AMENDED
Enacted 07/13/11
A N A C T
RELATING TO
TOWNS AND CITIES
Introduced By: Representatives Naughton, Walsh, and Guthrie
Date Introduced: March 03, 2011
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 45-24-37 of the General Laws in Chapter
45-24 entitled "Zoning
Ordinances" is hereby
amended to read as follows:
45-24-37. General
provisions -- Permitted uses. -- (a) The
zoning ordinance provides a
listing of all land uses and/or performance standards for
uses which are permitted within the
zoning use districts of the municipality.
(b) Notwithstanding any
other provision of this chapter, the following uses are permitted
uses within all residential zoning use districts of a
municipality and all industrial and commercial
zoning use districts except where residential use is
prohibited for public health or safety reasons:
(1) Households;
(2) Community
residences;
(3) Family day care
homes. ; and
(4) Plant
agriculture, being defined herein as the growing of plants, both food and
fiber,
to sell and/or consume.
(c) Any time a building
or other structure used for residential purposes, or a portion of a
building containing residential units, is rendered
uninhabitable by virtue of a casualty such as fire
or flood, the owner of the property is allowed to park,
temporarily, mobile and manufactured
home or homes, as the need may be, elsewhere upon the
land, for use and occupancy of the
former occupants for a period of up to twelve (12) months,
or until the building or structure is
rehabilitated and otherwise made fit for occupancy. The property owner, or a properly designated
agent of the owner, is only allowed to cause the mobile and
manufactured home or homes to
remain temporarily upon the land by making timely
application to the local building official for
the purposes of obtaining the necessary permits to repair
or rebuild the structure.
(d) Notwithstanding any
other provision of this chapter, appropriate access for people
with disabilities to residential structures is allowed as
a reasonable accommodation for any
person(s) residing, or intending to reside, in the residential
structure.
(e) Notwithstanding any
other provision of this chapter, an accessory family dwelling
unit in an owner-occupied, single-family residence shall
be permitted as a reasonable
accommodation only for family members with disabilities. The
appearance of the structure shall
remain that of a single-family residence and there shall be
an internal means of egress between
the principal unit and the accessory family dwelling
unit. If possible, no additional exterior
entrances should be added. Where additional entrance is required,
placement should generally be
in the rear or side of the structure. When the structure
is serviced by an individual sewage
disposal system, the applicant shall have the existing or any
new system approved by the
department of environmental management. The zoning enforcement
officer shall require that a
declaration of the accessory family dwelling unit for the family
member or members and its
restrictions be recorded in the land evidence records and filed
with the zoning enforcement officer
and the building official. Once the family member or
members with disabilities no longer resides
in the premises on a permanent basis, or the title is
transferred, the property owner shall notify the
zoning official in writing, and the accessory family dwelling
unit shall no longer be permitted,
unless there is a subsequent, valid application.
(f) When used in this
section the terms "people with disabilities" or "member or
members with disabilities" means a person(s) who has a
physical or mental impairment which
substantially limits one or more major life activities, as defined
in section 34-37-3 of the general
laws.
(g)
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, plant agriculture, being
defined
as the growing of plants for both food and fiber, to
sell and/or consume, is a permitted use within
all residential use districts of a municipality,
including all industrial and commercial zoning
districts, except where prohibited for public health or safety
reasons or the protection of wildlife
habitat, consistent with the "
provisions that this chapter does not apply to agricultural
operations conducted in a malicious or
negligent manner, and the director of the department of
environmental management, in
consultation with the chief of the division of agriculture, shall
determine what is agriculture, or an
agricultural activity use or operation.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC01449
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