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City of East Providence
City of East Providence Zoning Ordinance
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§ 19-482

Performance standards

  • (a) Flexible and creative lot layout and site design is encouraged to promote a mix of residential, commercial, office and public uses in a vibrant pedestrian oriented environment. The following performance standards delineate provisions for site development for uses permitted in the various sub-districts in the waterfront district. Performance standards for adaptive reuse projects are contained within subsection (b) following the table below.

The intent of the performance standards is to control the location of buildings to define and contain the street space, and to concentrate and reinforce pedestrian activity. Buildings in the waterfront district should reinforce the characteristics consistent with urban waterfront areas, with "build to" lines maintained for most of their frontage at the edge of the public right-of-way.

(A)
Land Use 		(B)
Land Allocation 		(C)
Lots and Buildings 		(D)
Streets and Ways 		(E)
Off-Street Parking
1. General: Land within the waterfront district shall be available for uses as provided below. 1. Similar land uses should front each other.
2. Dissimilar land use categories may abut along rear lot lines or across streets. 		1. All lots shall front on a street or public open space.
2. All buildings except outbuildings shall have their main entrance opening on a street or public open space.
3. Attics and raised basements/covered parking shall not count against story height limitations.
4. Stoops, open porches and outdoor seating areas may encroach into the front setback. 		1. All lots/tracts shall have access to a public street or way.
2. Rear alleys are encouraged and when utilized shall be a minimum width of 24 feet.
3. No block shall have a length greater than 400 feet unless an alley or other means of public access is provided for through access.
4. Street lamps shall be provided at intervals of no more than 100 feet.
5. Street trees shall be provided at a maximum of 60 feet on center. 		1. On street parking adjacent to a lot shall count toward meeting parking requirements for the lot's uses.
2. Parking lots shall generally be located at the rear of the buildings to the maximum extent practicable, and shall be screened from public ways.
3. Parking lots/decks shall not terminate public street vistas to the waterfront.
2. Public land use includes land designated for parks, squares, streets and ways, and public open space. Civic uses may be located within public use lots. 1. A minimum of five percent of residential tracts (gross area) shall be designated public open space.
2. Parks, squares and waterfront open space shall have at least 50 percent of their perimeter abutting a public right-of-way.
3. Waterfront properties must maintain a minimum of a 50-foot setback for contiguous waterfront access.
4. Such allocation will count toward the provisions for designated open space. 		1. Balconies may encroach up to four feet into public ways and open space, and shall be protected by easements. 1. Shared parking is encouraged for public uses.
Parking lots for public use shall be landscaped, but may be unpaved where determined appropriate.
3. Civic land use contains community buildings including libraries, post offices, schools, museums, religious buildings, performing arts, municipal and cultural buildings and others by conditional use provision approval. 1. Civic lots should be located on public parks, squares or on lots terminating at a street vista. 1. There shall be no height restriction for buildings designated for civic use. 1. Shared parking shall be utilized for civic uses where feasible.
2. Generally, parking shall be located at the rear of the building and screened from public ways.
4. Commercial land use includes lots/tracts containing buildings primarily for business uses including retail, office, medical office, entertainment, restaurant, lodging, artisan, and those buildings or developments mixed with a residential component. 1. Retail lots shall have a maximum street frontage of 175 feet. 1. Buildings shall be setback between zero to 15 feet from the front yard right-of-way.
Commercial buildings shall have their front facade built within five feet of the setback line or right-of-way along a minimum of 70 percent of their frontage.
2. Side setbacks, if provided, shall be at least five feet from the property line.
3. Building coverage shall not exceed 70 percent of the lot area.
4. A 100 percent coverage is allowed if parking is under the building.
Commercial buildings shall have no required side yard setbacks.
5. Buildings shall not exceed four stories in height except in special designated areas as approved by the commission; a minimum of two stories is encouraged.
6. When fronting on public open space buildings should be stepped with a setback of six feet for levels over the first two stories. 		1. Commercial lots/tracts shall front on public streets/ways which have a minimum right-of-way of 50 feet, with two travel lanes, parallel parking on both sides, and six foot sidewalks.
2. Street trees shall be planted-a maximum of 60 feet on both sides of streets.
3. Service alleys at the rear of commercial lots are encouraged. 		1. There shall be one parking space per 300 square feet of building area for office, retail, and entertainment uses.
2. There shall be one parking space per 250 square feet for medical offices.
3. There shall be one parking space for every four seats of restaurant uses.
4. There shall be one parking space per room of lodging.
5. There shall be one parking space per unit for senior housing.
6. There shall be two parking spaces per unit of residential and artisan live/work uses.
7. Shared parking will be utilized for mixed-use areas where feasible.
85 percent of the parking must be provided on the site.
8. There shall be a limit of two parking bays on one side of a lot, or one bay on each side.
9. General parking is not permitted in the front of a building lot.
5. High density residential includes land designated for residential and a mix of limited business use including limited office, lodging, retail, artisan, community, recreational and other uses by conditional use provision approval. 1. A maximum of ten percent of the total parcel area devoted to a mixed residential project may be single-family lots.
2. Single-family lots shall have a maximum size of 7,260 square feet.
3. Single-family lots shall have a minimum of 50 to a maximum of 75 feet of frontage. 		1. High density residential shall be limited to designated areas in the waterfront district.
2. Within such areas, building height limits shall be evaluated on a case by case basis by the commission with regard to view corridor assessments from within and outside of the waterfront district.
3. Building coverage shall not exceed 70 percent of the lot area.
4. A 100% coverage is allowed if parking is under the building.
5. Front yard setback shall be a minimum of five feet.
6. There shall be no required side yard setback. Side setbacks, if provided, shall be at least five feet from the property line. 		1. High density lots should front on streets having a minimum right-of-way of 50 feet with two travel lanes, parallel parking on both sides, and six-foot sidewalks.
2. Street trees shall be planted-a maximum of 60 feet on both sides of streets containing high density residential uses. 		1. There shall be two parking spaces per unit of residential and artisan live/work uses.
2. There shall be one parking space per unit for senior housing.
3. There shall be one parking space per 300 square feet of building area for office, retail, and entertainment uses.
4. There shall be one parking space for every four seats of restaurant uses.
5. There shall be one parking space per room of lodging.
6. Shared parking will be utilized for mixed-use areas where feasible.
7. All off-street parking shall be at the rear of the building to the maximum extent practicable and screened from public ways.
6. Medium density residential is land designated for residential and limited commercial uses, including townhomes, apartments and other attached housing, artist live/work studios, home offices and smaller scale neighborhood oriented retail establishments. 1. A maximum of fifteen percent of the total parcel area devoted to a mixed residential project may be single-family lots.
2. Single-family lots shall have a maximum size of 7,260 square feet.
3. Single-family lots shall have a minimum of 50 to a maximum of 75 feet of frontage. 		1. Buildings shall be setback between zero to 25 feet from the front yard right-of-way.
2. Buildings shall be setback from side lot lines equivalent to no less than 20 percent of the lot width.
3. The entire side yard setback may be allocated to one side.
4. Building coverage shall not exceed 70 percent of the lot area.
5. Building height shall not exceed five stories. 		1. Lots shall front on streets with a minimum right-of-way of 50 feet with at least two ten-foot travel lanes, parallel parking and six-foot sidewalks on both sides.
2. Where minimum setback is utilized, building height at the street shall be no more than three stories; stories above this must be setback an additional ten feet.
3. The use of rear alleys is encouraged; the width of such alleys shall be 24 feet. 		1. There shall be a minimum of one space per two bedrooms of residential uses.
2. On-street parking may be used to meet the requirements of non-residential uses within a mixed-use building or in a stand-alone facility.
3. All off-street parking shall be located to the rear or side of the building to the maximum extent practicable and screened from public ways.
7. Low density residential land shall be in lots containing buildings for residential uses including single-family homes, artist studios, guest cottages, home offices and others by conditional use provision approval. All of the building area above the ground floor shall be for residential use, with accessory uses permitted on each lot. 1. Low density residential may be included where a mix of housing types and densities is desired.
2. A maximum of 25 percent of the total parcel area devoted to a mixed residential project may be single-family lots.
3. Single-family lots shall have a maximum size of 7,260 square feet.
4. Single-family lots shall have a minimum of 50 to a maximum of 75 feet of frontage. 		1. Buildings shall be set back from zero to 25 feet from the frontage line.
2. Buildings shall be set back from side lot lines no less than 20 percent of the lot width.
3. The entire setback can be allocated to one side of the lot.
Primary buildings shall be set back no less than 30 feet from the rear lot line except for outbuildings.
4. Building coverage shall not exceed more than 70 percent of the lot area.
5. Buildings shall not exceed more than two stories in height. 		1. Single-family lots shall front on streets with a minimum of 40 feet of right-of-way.
2. Street trees shall be installed on both sides at no more than 60 foot intervals.
3. Lots may have their rear lot lines coincide with a minimum 24-foot alley. 		1. One off street parking space should be provided per two bedrooms of residential uses.
2. Parking and garages for all residential uses shall be prohibited in front yard setback areas. Garages facing a front yard property line shall not be located closer to the front lot line than the foremost facade of the principle building facing the front property line.
8. Business uses includes land designated for office, medical offices, light industry, artisan, warehousing, instructional and other uses by conditional use provision approval. 1. Business use lots shall have a minimum of 100 feet of frontage. 1. There shall be no front yard setback requirement.
2. Building coverage shall not exceed 70 percent of the lot area.
3. Building height shall not exceed three stories. 		1. Business lots/tracts shall front on public streets/ways which have a minimum right-of-way of 50 feet, with two travel lanes, parallel parking on both sides, and six-foot sidewalks.
2. Street trees shall be planted—a maximum of 60 feet on both sides of streets.
3. Service alleys at the rear of commercial lots are encouraged. 		1. There shall be one parking space per 250 square feet for office and medical office uses.
2. There shall be one space per 500 square feet for all other uses except uses identified in 7, below.
3. Off street parking may be to the side or rear of the building.
85 percent of the parking must be provided on the site.
4. There shall be a limit of two parking bays on one side of a lot, or one bay or each side.
5. To the maximum extent practicable, general parking is not permitted in the front of a building lot.
6. Where a business use abuts a residential use parking must be screened.
7. For light industry, artisan, warehousing, one space per 500 sf or 0.5 spaces per employee on the largest shift if located within 1,000 feet of a bus stop and 0.8 spaces per employee if located more than 1,000 feet from a bus stop (with a minimum of two spaces per unit).

 

  • (b) Standards for adaptive reuse projects. Adaptive reuse for the conversion of any commercial building, including offices, schools, religious facilities, medical buildings, and malls into residential units or mixed-use developments is a permitted use, under the criteria described below under Eligibility.

    • (1) Eligibility. Adaptive reuse development must include at least 50 percent of existing gross floor area developed into residential units. The property must have no environmental land use restrictions recorded by the RIDEM or United States Environmental Protection Agency preventing conversion to residential use.

    • (2) Density calculations. For projects that meet the following criteria, the maximum residential density permitted shall be no less than fifteen (15) dwelling units per acre:

      • a. Where the project is limited to the existing footprint, except that the footprint is allowed to be expanded to accommodate upgrades related to the building fire code, and utility requirements.

      • b. The development includes at least 20 percent low- and moderate-income housing onsite.

      • c. The development has access to public sewer and water service or has access to adequate private water, such as well and/or wastewater treatment systems approved by the relevant state agency for the entire development as applicable.

For all other adaptive reuse projects, the residential density permitted in the converted structure shall be the maximum allowed that otherwise meets all standards of minimum housing and has access to public sewer and water services or has access to adequate private water, such as well and wastewater treatment systems approved by the relevant state agency for the entire development, as applicable. The density proposed for any adaptive reuse project shall be determined to meet all public health and safety standards.

    • (3) Dimensional requirements.

      • a. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, existing building setbacks shall remain and are considered legal nonconforming.

      • b. No additional encroachments shall be permitted into any nonconforming setback unless relief is granted by the permitting authority.

      • c. Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, the height of the structure shall be considered legal nonconforming if it exceeds the maximum height of the zoning district in which the structure is located.

        • 1. Any rooftop construction necessary for building or fire code compliance, or utility infrastructure is included in the height exemption.

    • (4) Parking requirements. Adaptive reuse developments shall provide one parking space per dwelling unit. The applicant may propose additional parking in excess of one space per dwelling unit. The parking requirements and design standards in sections 19-482 and 19-483 shall apply to all uses proposed as part of the project unless otherwise approved by the commission. The number of parking spaces required shall apply for uses other than residential.

    • (5) Allowed uses. Residential dwelling units are a permitted use in an adaptive reuse project regardless of the zoning district in which the structure is located, in accordance with the provisions of this section. Any nonresidential uses proposed as part of an adaptive reuse project must comply with the provisions of section 19-481 for the zoning district in which the structure is located.

(Ch. 317, § I, 3-2-04; Ch. 642, § XXI, 3-15-16; Ch. 738, § VIII, 5-21-19; Ch. 914, § I(Att.), 12-19-23)