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Town of Portsmouth
Town of Portsmouth Zoning Ordinance
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§ VII-C

Apartments, condominiums, cluster or town houses

  • 1. An apartment, condominium, cluster or town house may be permitted as a special use permit in districts as specified in Article V. Permitted Uses, provided that the Zoning Board of Review, in accordance with this Ordinance, finds that the establishment of the same meets the standards and requirements of this section.
  • 2. The purpose of these regulations is to encourage the appropriate use of land for the development of multi-family housing taking into consideration the natural amenities of the site. No multi-family structure or structures or apartment houses or group of apartment houses shall be erected unless in accordance with the standards set forth in this section.
  • 3. In granting any such special use permit or in permitting any modification of the regulations set forth herein, the Zoning Board of Review may prescribe such conditions and safeguards, as further described in Article X. Special Conditions, as it may deem necessary to prevent nuisance to and promote harmony with nearby property.
  • 4. The disregarding of any such condition or safeguard, when made a part of the terms under which a special use permit is granted, shall be deemed a violation of this Ordinance.
  • 5. A Performance Bond or cash surety in the name of the Town of Portsmouth and in the amount of five percent (5%) of the estimated cost of development shall be submitted to the Zoning Enforcement Officer prior to the start of construction. Such Performance Bond or cash surety must be maintained in effect until a Certificate of Occupancy is issued.
  • 6. No proposed development shall be approved by the Zoning Board of Review unless it is served by an adequate sewerage treatment system, as certified by RIDEM, or public sewer, when the same becomes available, and that the sewer line(s) to which it shall be connected, have adequate capacity to carry the additional effluent created by the development. Should the line(s) be determined to be inadequate, only such portion of the development as can be accepted by the sewer line(s) shall be approved for development, provided it meets all other requirements of this Zoning Ordinance.
    • a) In the event a private sewage treatment plant is to be constructed, it shall be approved by the State of Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and it shall meet the standards of any federal or state legislation regarding water pollution control before a building permit may be issued.
  • 7. In granting a special use permit for a development under this section the Zoning Board of Review shall, immediately upon receipt of an application hereunder, refer the site plan and related documents to the Portsmouth Planning Board for review and advice, per the stipulations of Article XI. Development Plan Review. Plans for apartment, Condominium and Town House developments within or adjacent to commercial zones shall also be referred to the Design Review Board review and advice, per the stipulations of Article XI. Development Plan Review.
  • 8. The Zoning Board of Review shall require that the developer provide affidavits or statements prior to final approval signed by the Department of Environmental Management and the Coastal Resources Management Council that the proposed site does not violate any portion of the Wetlands Act or CRMC regulations, plus permits for curb cuts and connections to State road drainage systems, if applicable.
  • 9. Application shall include eleven (11) full sets of building and site drawings including, but not limited to, sewerage, other utilities, topographical plans, plumbing, heating and electrical plans, etc., as set forth below, and shall, as a condition precedent to the granting of said special use permit, require full adherence to said plans without deviation at any later construction date. The site plan shall conform to the development standards set forth in paragraph 10 below and shall contain the following:
    • a) A location map showing the location of the proposed site in relation to the Town of Portsmouth.
    • b) A plot plan showing the entire area to be developed as well as any abutting land under control of the applicant or owner of the land shown on the plan.
    • c) The site plan shall:
      • (1) Be drawn at a scale of one inch equals forty feet (1" = 40') and be thirty-two inches (32") long and twenty-two inches (22") wide and contain a North arrow in the upper left corner (A master plan may be of other scale).
      • (2) Contain a title block in the lower right corner including the name of the surveyor, designer and engineer, the name of the development, owner and applicant if other than owner, the date and scale, the acreage and the number of efficiency or one (1) bedroom units, the number of two (2) bedroom units and the number of units containing three (3) or more bedrooms.
      • (3) Show both existing and proposed contours at two foot (2') intervals, by the use of solid and dotted lines.
      • (4) Show size and location of all underground utilities within and abutting the site.
      • (5) Show location and width of all proposed vehicular and pedestrian interior ways.
      • (6) Show location and number of spaces of proposed parking.
      • (7) Show location of all proposed buildings by type (i.e. Apartment, townhouse, recreation, etc.) with the number of units by bedroom distribution.
      • (8) Show location and size of all proposed utilities, as approved by the installing authority.
      • (9) Show location and type of retention/erosion control areas if necessary to meet drainage requirement.
      • (10) Show location of all monuments.
      • (11) Show the names of all abutters as determined from the most recent tax list.
      • (12) Show the proposed treatment of all open spaces.
      • (13) Show on a separate sheet building elevations.
      • (14) Show on a separate sheet preliminary layout of building interiors.
    • d) Submittal shall also include items required in Article IX Section D. Design Review Standards, as applicable.
      • (1) The above elements may be shown on separate sheets.
  • 10. Development standards. All developments proposed under this Section shall conform to the following standards:
    • a) Minimum Frontage: one hundred ten feet (110').
    • b) Minimum Front Yard: thirty feet (30').
    • c) Minimum Side Yard: twenty-five feet (25').
      • (1) Driveways may not be counted as side yards.
    • d) Minimum Rear Yard: twenty-five percent (25%) or thirty feet (30') whichever is lesser.
    • e) Maximum Lot Coverage by Buildings: twenty-five percent (25%)**.

      ** Does include accessory structures such as swimming pools, cabanas, recreational buildings, etc. used exclusively for the residents of the development.

    • f) Maximum building and parking area coverage: forty percent (40%).
    • g) The following are the minimum required buildable land area per unit in square feet. In determining buildable land area, not more than ten percent (10%) of the area that is subject to periodic or seasonal flooding, per the most recent FEMA maps, shall be counted. (Example: total land area twenty (20) acres of which five (5) acres are subject to flooding net buildable land for determining density is fifteen point five (15.5) acres.) The provisions of this Subparagraph shall supersede the provisions of Article IV, Section B. Land Space Requirements Table.
      • (1) If served by an on site sewer system with effluent being discharged into an on site absorption field, the minimum buildable land area per unit in square feet is as follows:
        ZONE1 BEDROOM2 BEDROOM3 BEDROOMEACH ADDITIONAL BEDROOM
        R-105,0008,00010,0003,000
        R-20 & WD10,00016,00020,0006,000
        R-3015,00024,00030,0009,000
        R-4020,00032,00040,00012,000
      • (2) If served by sewer system plant or public sewer system with effluent being discharged into an offsite absorption field the minimum buildable land area per unit in square feet is as follows:
        ZONE1 BEDROOM2 BEDROOM3 BEDROOMEACH ADDITIONAL BEDROOM
        R-103,7505,6007,5002,000
        R-20 & WD7,50011,00015,0004,000
        R-3011,25017,00022,5006,000
        R-4015,00022,50030,0008,000
        NOTE: Any room such as a den, playroom, etc. is to be considered as a bedroom for this purpose.
    • h) Due to the wide range of soil content in the Town of Portsmouth, no on site sewerage system shall be considered completely adequate without attention being given to the existing soil analysis map as prepared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service. No opinion pertaining to the adequacy of the proposed system can be given without written evidence of on-site soil exploration tests as required by the R.I. Department of Environmental Management. On site sewerage systems shall be approved by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
    • i) Maximum Building Height: two and one-half (2 1/2) Stories, not to exceed thirty-five feet (35').
    • j) Drainage.
      • (1) The developer shall provide for adequate drainage and shall further provide that the rate of runoff from the property shall not increase during construction or after completion of the development to the detriment of surrounding properties. If the retention of water is deemed necessary, then the retention areas shall be provided prior to construction of any buildings or the surfacing of any areas. The engineer shall submit on separate sheets all computations in determining rates of runoff and shall base all calculations on a ten (10) year storm frequency using the TR-55 method for determining total storm water runoff. These computations shall be prepared by an engineer registered in the State of Rhode Island and he shall affix his seal to the required documents.
    • k) Sewage System.
      • (1) Public sanitary sewers shall be designed so as to ensure a self-cleaning velocity of not less than two and one half feet (2.5') per second nor more than ten feet (10') per second. Computation of sewage and sewage flow calculation shall be submitted.
    • l) Water.
      • (1) Computation of water usage and a statement of water availability shall be submitted. Written evidence of permission to connect to a public water supply shall be delivered to the Building Inspector prior to issuance of a building permit.
    • m) Parking.i
    • n) Open space.
      • (1) Open space shall be provided in appropriate places and every effort shall be made to preserve wooded areas or other site amenities.
    • o) Building design and location.
      • (1) Where more than one (1) building is erected on a lot it shall be separated from any other building by a minimum of one hundred feet (100') and all buildings shall be set back a minimum of fifty-five feet (55') from the centerline of any interior way and thirty feet (30') from any parking area.
      • (2) Town House or attached dwelling: No row of attached buildings shall contain less than three (3) nor more than eight (8) units and the minimum width between party walls shall be not less than eighteen feet (18').
      • (3) No apartment building shall be less than sixty feet (60') in length. No facade or any apartment building shall exceed one hundred sixty linear feet (160') without a building jog of at least forty-five degrees (45°) for a two (2) wing building or thirty degrees (30°) for a three (3) wing building.
      • (4) No one building shall contain more than twenty-four (24) units.
    • p) All interior roadways and parking areas shall be constructed in accordance with the "Construction Standard for Streets" of the "Rules and Regulations Regarding the Platting or other Subdivision of Land" of the Town of Portsmouth.

      Editor's Note: See Ch. 236, Land Development and Subdivision Regulations.

    • q) Access and egress.
      • (1) For each lot there shall be not more than one (1) entrance and exit driveway for each five hundred feet (500') of the street on which the lot faces. Said entrance and exit shall meet the requirements of the State of Rhode Island Department of Roads and Bridges and the Portsmouth Police and Highway Departments.
    • r) Acceptable engineering standards shall prevail where no standards are specified.
    • s) Fire lanes shall be provided for and approved by the Fire Department.
  • 11. The foregoing Development Standards including but not limited to the parking, open space, building design and location and other standards set forth herein and in Article IX may be modified and/or varied by the Zoning Board of Review upon a finding that such modifications or variations comply with the requirements set forth in of Section A paragraph 4 herein.
  • 12. Where these regulations may conflict with other regulations, the more stringent regulation shall prevail.