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City of Cranston
City of Cranston Zoning Ordinance
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§ 17.20.020

Conditions for permitted uses

  • A. The uses authorized in Section 17.20.030 are subject to all the applicable requirements in this chapter. Certain categories of uses in Section 17.20.030 are permitted only in compliance with additional performance standards articulated elsewhere in this chapter.
  • B. The following uses shall be permitted uses within all residential zoning use districts of a municipality and all 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.
  • 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 homes, as the need may be, elsewhere upon the land, for use and occupancy of the former occupants for a period of up to 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. 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. 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 that substantially limits one or more major life activities, as defined in RIGL § 42-87-1(5).
  • F. Adaptive Reuse.
    • 1. Adaptive reuse for the conversion of any commercial building, including offices, schools, religious facilities, medical buildings, mills, and malls into residential units or mixed-use developments which include the development of at least 50% of the existing gross floor area into residential units, shall be a permitted use.
    • 2. Prohibitions. Adaptive reuse under this section shall not be allowed where:
      • a. Residential use is prohibited by environmental land use restrictions recorded on the property by the state of Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management or the United States Environmental Protection Agency;
      • b. In the M-1 and M-2 zoning districts, or a portion thereof, where residential use is prohibited for public health and safety reasons which are based on specific and detailed findings;
      • c. In any building previously used for industrial or manufacturing use(s), which has not been vacant of an industrial use for less than one year prior to the submission of the permit or application for adaptive reuse.
    • 3. Density. Provided that all minimum building, rehabilitation, and fire code requirements are met for all residential units, as applicable; and provided that, for projects with more than four residential units, not less than 10% of low- or moderate-income housing is provided. If less than 10% of low- or moderate-income housing is provided, then the allowable maximum density shall be less than 15 units per acre.
    • 4. Dimensional Requirements.
      • a. Building Envelope. The development shall be limited to the existing building envelope, except that the envelope is allowed to be expanded to accommodate upgrades of non-occupiable space related to the building and fire codes and utilities such as HVAC equipment, stairs, and elevators.
      • b. Parking. A minimum of one off-street parking space for the first two bedrooms of any dwelling unit shall be provided and one additional parking space per additional bedroom.
      • c. Existing Setbacks. Existing building setbacks shall remain and shall be considered legal nonconforming, but no additional encroachments shall be permitted into any nonconforming setback, unless relief is granted by the applicable authority.
      • d. Height. For adaptive reuse projects, the height of the existing structure, if it exceeds the maximum height of the zoning district, may remain and shall be considered legal nonconforming, and any non-occupiable rooftop construction such as HVAC equipment and stairs or elevator towers, but excluding rooftop decks, shall be included within the height exemption.
    • 5. Water and Sewer. The development shall have access to public water and sewer services or shall have access to adequate private water, such as a well(s) and and/or on-site wastewater treatment system(s) approved by the relevant state agency.
  • G. Manufactured homes, as defined in Section 17.04.030, that comply with RIGL § 23-27.3-109.1.3 shall be allowed as a type of single-family home on any lot zoned for single-family use. Such home shall comply with all dimensional requirements of a single-family home in the district.

(Prior code § 30-7; Ord. 2026-2, 1/20/2026)