ORDINANCE COMMITTEE

Posted Wednesday, February 3, 2021 1:00 am

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

A Public Hearing on the following proposed Ordinances will be held before the Ordinance Committee on Thursday, March 11, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. pursuant to Section 3.12 of the Charter via Zoom webinar

You are invited to a Zoom webinar.

When: Mar 11, 2021 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Topic: Ordinance Committee

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Complete copies of proposed Ordinance is available for public review at the City Clerk’s Office, and the Cranston Central Library and the City’s website cranstonri.com under calendar by clicking on the meeting date.

“Individuals requesting interpreter services for the dear or hard of hearing must notify the City Clerk’s Office at 461-1000 ext. 3197 seventy-two (72) hours in advance of the hearing date.”

Matthew Reilly, Chair
Ordinance Committee

Leanne Zarrella, JD
City Clerk

PROPOSED ORDINANCE 1-21-05 IN AMENDMENT OF CHAPTER 17.84 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF CRANSTON, 2005, ENTITLED “ZONING”

(Conformance to District Regulations Required &

Substandard Lots of Record)

It is ordained by the City Council of the City of Cranston as follows:

Section 1: Chapter 17.20.040 entitled “Conformance to District Regulations Required” is hereby amended as follows:

Section 17.20 Permitted Uses

17.20.040 – Conformance to District Regulations Required

No structure or land shall be hereafter used and no structure or part thereof shall be erected or moved nor shall the exterior be altered unless in conformity with the regulations for minimum lot area herein specified for the district in which it is located, except as provided for in Sections 17.04.070, 17.04.080, and Chapters 17.108 Zoning Board of Review, 17.88 Nonconforming Uses and Structures and 17.112 Industrial Performance Commission of this title.

Subdivision of Land

Minor and Major Subdivisions of land, as defined by the City of Cranston Subdivision Regulations, as amended, shall not be approved unless all buildable lots are in conformity with the minimum lot area and minimum lot width & frontage as per Section 17.20.120 Schedule of Intensity Regulations.

Administrative Subdivisions of land, as defined by the City of Cranston Subdivision Regulations, as amended, shall not be approved unless all buildable lots are in conformity with the minimum lot area and minimum lot width & frontage as per Section 17.20.120 Schedule of Intensity Regulations, unless the proposal results in the reduction of existing nonconformities and does not create or intensify any nonconformity.

Development Proposals

Primary structures shall be permitted on substandard lots of record that have a minimum of two-thirds the lot area specified for the district which it is located unless said lot is merged to form a conforming lot per Section 17.88.010 Substandard Lots of Records & Lot Mergers, and provided that the lot has sufficient accommodations for vehicular access including that required for emergency vehicles as determined by the Fire Chief or his/her designee. Such proposals shall not require conformance with minimum lot area and lot width & frontage. This provision shall not apply to two-family or multi-family development which are subject to Section 17.20.090 Specific Requirements & 20.120 Schedule of Intensity Regulations.

Accessory structures may be permitted on substandard lots of record, in accordance with Chapter 17.60 Accessory Uses, and shall not require conformance with minimum lot area and lot width & frontage.

Additions, expansions or renovations to existing structures on substandard lots of record that do not result in a required increase of minimum lot area per Section 17.20.090 Specific Requirements & 20.120 Schedule of Intensity Regulations may be permitted and shall not require conformance with minimum lot area and lot width & frontage. Additions, expansions or renovations which result in a required increase in the minimum lot area per Section 17.20.090 Specific Requirements & 17.20.120 Schedule of Intensity Regulations shall require conformance with minimum lot area and lot width & frontage.

Changes of Use

Changes of use which result in a required increase in minimum lot area per Section 17.20.090 Specific Requirements & 17.20.120 Schedule of Intensity Regulations shall require conformance with minimum lot area and lot width & frontage.

Changes of use which do not result in a required increase in minimum lot area per Section 17.20.090 Specific Requirements & 17.20.120 Schedule of Intensity Regulations shall not require conformance with minimum lot area and lot width & frontage.

No exemption in this Section shall be meant to provide relief from any other section of the Zoning Code.

Section 2: Chapter 17.88.010 entitled “Substandard lots of record” is hereby amended as follows:

Section 17.88 Nonconforming Uses and Structures

17.88.010 – Substandard Lots of Record & Lot Mergers

“Substandard Lots of Record” Defined. For the purposes of this chapter, A"substandard lot of record" is a lot which does not satisfy one or more dimensional requirements set forth inSection 17.20.120, but which was shown on a plat or deed recorded prior to January 1, 1966 or an approved plat recorded after January 1, 1966 which has otherwise been legally created and which has not been altered to become more nonconforming since its creation, except by approval of the planning board of review City Plan Commission.

Contiguous Substandard Lots of Record Lot Mergers
1. If two or more contiguous substandard lots of record are owned by the same person or entity as of January 1, 1966, or if one of any two abutting lots under common ownership by the same person or entity as of the same dateis less than 4,000 square feet, such lots shall be considered to be combined to form as many conforming lots as are permitted in the particular district for the purpose of this chapter, unless the lot meets the exemption as outlined in item (3) below;
2. In the event that there are multiple contiguous substandard lots of record with more than one way the lots could be merged, upon request of a Zoning Certificate, the Zoning Official shall determination which lots are merged. The determination shall be based upon factors including but not limited to the existing improvements on site, natural conditions, and/or the sum of the area and frontage of the substandard lots (those lots whose sum is closest to the minimum required in the underlying zoning district would be combined before lots with larger sums, all other conditions being equal).
3. In a block that is seventy-five (75) percent or more developed in A-6, B-1 and B-2 zones, lots having an area of at least four thousand (4,000) square feet and having an area and frontage equal to or greater than the average of those developed parcels within two hundred (200) feet of the lot which are on the same side of the street need not be so combined. Substandard lots of record that are merged shall be considered merged for the purposes of calculation of this provision. Non-buildable lots of record and lots with zoning designations other than the subject lot shall not be included in the calculation. Side corner lots and double frontage lots may qualify for this exemption by measuring from any of its available frontages, so long as that frontage becomes the primary front for the subsequent development of the lot.
Where two or more No parcel, tract or lots are combined in accordance with this section, they shall not be subdivided in a manner where the lot width, depth frontage or area of any resulting lot shall be less than the requirements fixed by this chapter.
Any substandard lot of record which is not merged to a contiguous substandard lot of record under common ownership to form a conforming lot shall be regulated in accordance with 17.20.040 Conformance to District Regulations Required.