Notice and hearing requirements
Notice and hearing requirements are as follows:
A. The ordinance from which this chapter is derived shall not be adopted, repealed or amended until after a public hearing has been held upon the question before the town council. The town council shall first give notice of the public hearing by publication of notice in a newspaper of local circulation within the town at least once each week for three successive weeks prior to the date of the hearing, which may include the week in which the hearing is to be held, at which hearing opportunity shall be given to all persons interested to be heard upon the matter of the proposed ordinance. Written notice shall be mailed to the associate director of the division of planning of the state department of administration, and, where applicable, to the parties specified in subsections (B), (C) and (D) [B., C. and D.] of this section 82-1703, at least two weeks prior to the hearing. At least 14 days prior to the hearing, the same notice shall be posted in the town clerk's office and one other municipal building in the town and the town shall make the notice accessible on the home page of its website. The notice shall:
1) Specify the place of the hearing and the date and time of its commencement;
2) Indicate that adoption, amendment, or repeal of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived is under consideration;
3) Contain a statement of the proposed amendments to the ordinance from which this chapter is derived that may be printed once in its entirety, or summarize and describe the matter under consideration;
4) Advise those interested where and when a copy of the matter under consideration may be obtained or examined and copied; and
5) State that the proposals shown thereon [on the statement of proposed amendments] may be altered or amended prior to the close of the public hearing without further advertising, as a result of further study or because of the views expressed at the public hearing. Any alteration or amendment must be presented for comment in the course of the hearing.
B. Where a proposed general amendment to the existing ordinance from which this chapter is derived includes changes in an existing zoning map, public notice shall be given as required by subsection A of this section 82-1703.
C. Where a proposed text amendment to an existing zoning ordinance would cause a conforming lot of record to become nonconforming by lot area or frontage, written notice shall be given by first-class mail to all owners of the real property as shown on the current real estate tax assessment records of the town. The notice shall be given at least two weeks prior to the hearing at which the text amendment is to be considered, with the content required by subsection A. The notice shall include reference to section 82-909, Merger of contiguous nonconforming lots of record, and the impacts of common ownership of nonconforming lots. For any notice sent by first-class mail, the sender of the notice shall submit a notarized affidavit to attest to such mailing.
D. Where a proposed amendment to an existing ordinance includes a specific change in a zoning district map, but does not affect districts generally, public notice shall be given as required by subsection A of this section 82-1703, with the additional requirements that:
1) Notice shall include a map showing the existing and proposed boundaries, zoning district boundaries, and existing streets and roads and their names, and town boundaries where appropriate; and
2) Written notice of the date, time, and place of the public hearing and the nature and purpose thereof shall be sent to all owners of real property whose property is located in or within not less than 200 feet of the perimeter of the area proposed for change. The notice shall be sent by registered, certified or first-class mail to the last known address of the owners, as shown on the current real estate tax assessment records of the town; provided, for any notice sent by first-class mail, the sender of the notice shall submit a notarized affidavit to attest to such mailing.
E. Notice of a public hearing shall be sent to the governing body of any state or municipal water department or agency, special water district, or private water company that has riparian rights to a surface water resource and/or surface watershed that is used or is suitable for use as a public water source and that is within 2,000 feet of any real property which is the subject of a proposed zoning change; provided, however, that the governing body of any state or municipal water department or agency, special water district, or private water company has filed with the zoning enforcement officer in the town a map survey, which shall be kept as a public record, showing areas of surface water resources and/or watersheds and parcels of land within 2,000 feet thereof.
F. No defect in the form of any notice under this section shall render any ordinance or amendment invalid, unless the defect is found to be intentional or misleading.
G. Costs of newspaper and mailing notices required under this section shall be borne by the applicant.
H. In granting a zoning ordinance amendment, notwithstanding the provisions of G.L. 1956, § 45-24-37, the town council may limit the change to one of the permitted uses in the zone to which the subject land is rezoned, and impose such limitations, conditions, and restrictions, including, without limitation:
1) Requiring the petitioner to obtain a permit or approval from any and all state or local governmental agencies or instrumentalities having jurisdiction over the land and use which are the subject of the zoning change;
2) Those relating to the effectiveness or continued effectiveness of the zoning change; and/or
3) Those relating to the use of the land, as it deems necessary. The town clerk shall cause the limitations and conditions so imposed to be clearly noted on the zoning map and recorded in the land evidence records of the town, provided, however, in the case of a conditional zone change, the limitations, restrictions, and conditions shall not be noted on the zoning map until the zone change has become effective. If the permitted use for which the land has been rezoned is abandoned or if the land is not used for the requested purpose for a period of two years or more after the zone change becomes effective, the town council may, after a public hearing as hereinbefore set forth [in this section], change the land to its original zoning use before the petition was filed. If any limitation, condition or restriction in an ordinance is held to be invalid by a court in any action, that holding shall not cause the remainder of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived to be invalid.
I. The above requirements are to be construed as minimum requirements.
(Ord. of 2-3-2025(1), § 1(Exh. A))