Coastal resources overlay district
(a) District defined. The coastal resources overlay district is composed of (i) tidal waters and coastal salt ponds; (ii) shoreline features including coastal beaches and dunes, barrier beaches, coastal cliffs, bluffs, and banks, rocky shores, and manmade shorelines; and (iii) areas contiguous to shoreline features extending inland for 200 feet ("contiguous areas"), as these lands and waters are defined by the state coastal resources management council. Coastal resources have great and varied commercial, industrial, recreational, ecological, and aesthetic values which are threatened with destruction by unplanned and poorly planned development. It is the public policy of Rhode Island and the town to preserve, protect, develop, and restore coastal resources and their ecological systems in the interests of the public health, safety, and general welfare of the community.
(b) Special use permit uses. The zoning board of review may grant a special use permit following site plan review and approval for the following activities in the coastal resources overlay district, provided the proposed project or activity complies with all applicable development standards and other requirements imposed by this ordinance and by the state coastal resources management council:
(1) Filling, dumping, depositing, dredging, excavating, mining, grading, or removing or disturbing topsoil;
(2) [Reserved];
(3) Constructing structures, roads, parking areas, or other facilities;
(4) Installing sewer lines, individual sewage disposal systems, or other underground utilities;
(5) Constructing any marinas;
(6) Installing structural or nonstructural shoreline protection measures such as seawalls and bulkheads;
(7) Undertaking beach nourishment;
(8) Discharging or introducing any pollutants or effluents, including runoff;
(9) Disposing of solid waste.
(c) Development standards. Any proposed use or development in a coastal resources overlay district must comply with the following development standards:
(1) The proposed project will not interfere with public access to or use and enjoyment of tidal waters and shorelines features;
(2) The proposed project will not degrade the aesthetic and recreational values of tidal waters or diminish the natural diversity of shoreline features;
(3) The proposed project will not degrade existing water quality or adversely affect the circulation and flushing patterns of tidal waters, or diminish the value of tidal waters and shoreline features as habitats for fish, shellfish, wildlife, and wildfowl;
(4) The proposed project will not increase the volume or velocity of stormwater runoff or sedimentation of tidal waters or exacerbate the potential for shoreline erosion or flooding;
(5) The proposed project will not diminish the value of any shoreline feature as a storm and hurricane buffer;
(6) Any filling, grading, excavating, and other land alteration will be the minimum necessary to construct the proposed project;
(7) The proposed project will not pose any threat to public health, public safety, or property;
(8) Except for foot paths and selective thinning of vegetation for view corridors as approved by CRMC, a 150-foot wide natural undisturbed buffer drawn from the inland edge of the coastal feature shall be required for "areas of critical concern" and "self sustaining lands" as these areas are defined by CRMC, and lands adjacent to Wesquage Pond and other poorly flushed estuarine areas. A 100-foot wide buffer is required for other areas fronting on other natural shoreline features in the coastal resource overlay district. Within these buffer areas all structures, roads, individual sewage disposal systems are prohibited, except as allowed by section 16 of this ordinance.
(Ch. 811(1), § 1(4.4), 3-4-2002)
Cross reference— Waterways, ch. 82.