Decisions and records.

§ 255-430. Decisions and records.

• A. The Board shall render a decision on any matters before it within fifteen (15) days after the public hearing is closed by a majority vote of the Board.

• B. The Board shall include in its decision all findings of fact and conditions, registering the vote of each participating member, and the absence of a member or their failure to vote. The Board shall keep written minutes of its proceedings, recording the vote of each member upon each question, or, if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and the Board shall keep records of its examinations, findings of fact, and other official actions, all of which shall be recorded and filed in the Office of the Town Clerk in as expeditious a manner a practicable following the completion of a proceeding.

• C. Decisions shall be recorded and filed in the office of the Board within thirty (30) working days from the date when a decision was rendered and decisions shall be a public record. A copy of all Board decisions shall also be recorded in the land evidence records of the Town.

• D. For any proceeding from which a party to the proceeding has a right of appeal to the Rhode Island Superior or Supreme Courts, the Board shall have the minutes recorded stenographically and transcribed by a qualified stenographer or recorded by a sound-recording device and transcribed by a qualified transcriptionist. All costs for stenographic and/or transcription services shall be paid by the applicant.

• E. All decisions of the Board, including any special conditions attached thereto, shall be mailed to the appellant or applicant, the Town Clerk, the Building Inspector or the ZEO, the Town Planner and the Commission, and to the Associate Director of the Division of Planning of the Rhode Island Department of Administration. Any decision evidencing the granting of a variance, modification, or special use shall also be recorded in the land evidence records of the Town.