Institutional master plan requirement
All higher education institutions shall file an institutional master plan with the planning board, which institutional master plan shall be in compliance with the use and dimensional requirements of this division and the town's comprehensive plan and which shall be approved by the planning board through formal development plan review.
(1) Purpose. An institutional master plan is required to promote the orderly growth and development of institutions while preserving neighborhood character, and historic resources, and to ensure that the plans are consistent with the town's comprehensive plan. The institutional master plan shall be a statement, in text, maps, illustrations, or other media of communication that is designed to provide a basis for rational decision making regarding the long term physical development of the institution. The plan shall include an implementation element which defines and schedules for a period of five years or more, the specific public actions to be undertaken in order to achieve the goals and objectives of the plan.
(2) Filing requirements and changes.
a. Institutions shall file with the planning board an institutional master plan within six months following the adoption of this division. Said institution shall review its institutional master plan five years following the first approval, and every five years thereafter (regardless of any intervening amendments) to determine if any changes are being considered or proposed. If changes are not proposed, the institution shall notify the planning board in writing that the current institutional master plan is valid for another five years.
b. The institutional master plan may be amended at any time by the institution upon application to the planning board. An amendment shall be required for any of the following:
1. Any proposed change at all between the sight visibility line (SVL) as hereinafter defined and a street;
2. Any proposed change at all within Sector 1 on the Roger Williams Draft Map;
3. Any proposed change greater than 25 percent in the size of a building or structure in Sectors 2 or 3 on the Roger Williams Draft Map;
4. Any proposed change greater than 100 feet in the location of a building or structure in Sectors 2 or 3 on the Roger Williams Draft Map;
5. Any proposed new building or structure in Sectors 2 or 3 on the Roger Williams Draft Map;
6. Any proposed changes for dormitories or any increase in residential dormitory capacity;
7. Any proposed change to designated buffers;
8. Any proposed change that decreases existing landscaping by 20 percent or more.
c. In addition to amendment of the institutional master plan, minor changes to the institutional master plan may be made by the institution upon prior written notice to the planning board. Minor changes include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. The addition or cumulative addition to an existing building of less than 25 percent in the size of a building or structure, or less than 100 feet in the location of a building or structure in Sectors 2 or 3 on the Roger Williams Draft Map,
2. Any change in parking which does not result in a net decrease in the number of spaces available on the campus.
d. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a mere change from one department or discipline to another shall NOT be deemed to be any change to the institutional master plan. Examples of such nonchange events include a change from English department classrooms to law school classrooms, or a change from admissions office to development office.
(3) Review and approval. An institutional master plan shall be subject to the procedure for review and approval set forth in the subdivision and development review regulations of the Town of Bristol for formal development plan review.
(4) Plan contents. The institutional master plan shall contain the following minimum requirements:
a. Mission statement of the institution, including its relationship with the neighborhoods communities and environment in which it is physically situated.
b. Description of existing conditions that shall include a list of all properties owned or leased by the institution within the town regardless of whether they are part of the institution's institutional master plan. The list shall be arranged by assessors plat and lot and include street address, present uses, whether single or multiple uses, including street level and all upper story uses; condition of buildings, structures, parking lots, open space and the like; and other relevant existing conditions of the campus or grounds. Use shall include the general academic function of the building or structure, and not the specific program (e.g. "classroom" and not "English Department classroom").
c. A list of properties owned by the institution and on the National Register of Historic Places or designated in a local historic district and proposed exterior changes to these properties (other than ordinary maintenance), if known.
d. Statement of ten-year goals and five-year objectives and means and approaches through which such goals and objectives may be reached.
e. Proposed changes in land holdings of the institution including property to be acquired or sold, proposed street(s) to be abandoned, and new streets to be established including private rights-of-way. Property acquired by an educational institution after the approval of its institutional master plan shall automatically be referred to the planning board for a recommendation on amendment by the town council as an amendment to the zoning map, and upon submission of an application by the educational institution, the amendment to the institutional master plan shall be considered by the planning board at a public hearing simultaneously with its consideration of a recommendation to the town council regarding such amendment.
f. Proposed changes in land use within the institution's campus and grounds.
g. Proposed capital improvements including new structures, additions to existing structures, parking garages, parking lots, parks, and grounds. Major renovations that affect the building and/or campus grounds shall be included. The plan shall, at a minimum, identify the location of such improvements (on a map of the campus), the footprint and exterior dimensions of any new structure, height in stories and feet, proposed uses, including primary and accessory uses, parking and loading to support such uses, and landscaped buffers.
h. For the campus of Roger Williams University located east of Metacom Avenue, the institutional master plan shall include a map showing the division of said campus into four sectors including the "buffer" sector. A drawing, prepared by a licensed engineer or surveyor, shall set out all existing buildings and structures, and landscape features as well as the buildings and structures proposed for the next five years. Each sector shall correspond to one of the three subdistricts with its own maximum height. The planning board shall approve the exact location of the zoning subdistricts as referenced above, and they shall be clearly marked on the approved and recorded institutional master plan, a copy of which shall be placed in the custody of the town clerk and hereby incorporated by reference as part of the official zoning map.
i. For the campus of Roger Williams University located east of Metacom Avenue, the institutional master plan shall include a map showing a designated buffer along all property lines where the campus abuts a street. Said buffer shall not be less than 80 feet deep from the property line abutting Metacom Avenue and Ferry Road, extending from the northernmost part of the building currently used as a performing art center to the southern end of "Sector 1" as shown on the Roger Williams Draft Map. Said buffer may not include any permanent buildings or structures, but may be used for educational institutional purposes such as athletic fields, and may contain temporary structures such as athletic goals and spectator stands. Said map shall also include a buffer of not less than 50 feet from the property of any other land owner, which buffer shall not be used for any purpose other than landscaped buffer. Said map shall also show a "street visibility line" (hereafter "SVL"), beyond which line new buildings or structures would not be visible from a street, due either to sloping topography, existing vegetative screening provided such screening is within the designated buffer, or existing buildings and structures. The planning board shall approve a buffer and SVL, with both to be clearly marked on the approved and recorded institutional master plan.
j. For any new building or addition to an existing building that has building plans, including scaled plans and elevations, such plans and drawings shall be included in the institutional master plan submission. For any new building or structure, and any addition to existing buildings that is located, in whole or in part, between the SVL and a street, architectural drawings shall be submitted to the technical review committee for development plan review, pursuant to the town subdivision and development review regulations and this chapter. The development plan review shall include the location including the relationship to the public street and the impact on the view of the campus from the public street, overall design including the basic architectural style, the shape and form of the roof, the facade, the fenestration and the integration of the new structure into the campus parking and circulation system.
k. Proposed demolition of any building, structure, parking garage, parking lot, park, or any other campus facility. In the event of demolition for any building that has tenants other than the institution itself, the institutional master plan shall contain a tenant relocation program which shall contain, as a minimum, provisions relative to institutionally owned residential structures intended for demolition. The relocation shall contain alternatives to demolition which will accommodate the interests of said tenants, the neighborhood and the institutions and which will provide for tenant relocation assistance.
l. A circulation plan indicating existing and proposed vehicular access, pedestrian sidewalks and general circulation layout of the campus. The circulation plan shall be prepared by a registered professional engineer who shall have significant experience in traffic engineering. The circulation plan shall address on-site and off-site impacts on adjacent streets. In addition, the plan shall address the adequacy of on-site traffic circulation, parking and loading, sidewalk/pedestrian circulation, delivery, and emergency access and related circulation issues.
m. A parking plan that shows the location of all parking on and off the campus. The plan shall identify: the number of parking spaces that exist and the number that are required by this division; the location of new spaces required as a result of any proposed development; any proposed shuttle system between lots and campus facilities; and other information deemed appropriate.
n. Any proposed activity that would require an action by the town to implement.
o. Application filing fee, in the amount of $1,000.00, or as may be amended by the town council from time to time. Engineering review fees, inspections fees, and other fees (as per Article 7 of the town subdivision and development review regulations) shall be reimbursed by the applicant based on the actual costs incurred by the town, prior to final approval.
p. The institutional master plan shall contain text and maps to facilitate the review process.
(Ord. No. 2025-07, Att., 5-28-25)