APPLICATION

1800 APPLICATION

• A. Filing of Applications

  1. All applications shall be filed with the appropriate official as described in Table 18-1: Filing of Applications:

• Zoning Text and Map Amendment City Clerk Special Use Zoning Board of Review Secretary Variance Zoning Board of Review Secretary Administrative Modification Director of Department of Inspection and Standards Land Development Project Director of Department of Planning and Development Administrative Development Plan Review Director of Department of Planning and Development City Plan Commission Formal Development Plan Review Director of Department of Planning and Development D-1 District Formal and Administrative Development Plan Review Director of Department of Planning and Development I-195 Redevelopment Commission Development Plan Review I-195 Redevelopment District Commission Staff Institutional Master Plan Formal Development Plan Review Director of Department of Planning and Development Certificate of Appropriateness Director of Department of Planning and Development Temporary Use Permit Director of Department of Inspection and Standards Zoning Interpretation Director of Department of Inspection and Standards Public Right-of-Way Encroachment Permit Director of Department of Public Works Building Permit Director of Department of Inspection and Standards Zoning Certificate and Zoning Certificate for Compliance Director of Department of Inspection and Standards Certificate Of Occupancy Director of Department of Inspection and Standards Zoning Appeals Zoning Board of Review Secretary 2. All applications shall be on forms provided by the City and in the format and number of copies as required by the instructions on those forms. The application shall include any additional information, plans, and data specified in Article 19.

• B. Pre-Application Conference Prior to formal submittal of an application, the applicant may request a pre-application conference with the Department of Planning and Development and/or applicable review body or official. The purpose of the pre-application conference, which does not require a formal application or fees, is to provide informal advice and assistance to the applicant. Any opinions or advice provided are not binding with respect to any official action that may be taken on the application. This process is strongly encouraged for all land development projects and development plan review. This process is required for all petitions for changes to the zoning ordinance or maps.

• C. Completeness

  1. The application shall include all information, plans, and data as specified in the application requirements. Any required plans shall be at a scale sufficient to permit a clear and precise understanding of the proposal, unless specifically required to be at a set scale. All graphic representations and notes shall be consistent with each other. Any deviation from an approved plan set shall be submitted to the official(s) who reviewed the plan for further review.

• 2. The official designated for receipt of an application, or his/her designee, will examine the application for completeness. If the application does not include all the submittal requirements for the application, the official will reject the application and provide the applicant with the reasons for the rejection. The official will take no further steps to process the application until all deficiencies are remedied.

• 3. After an application is determined to be complete, any substantive change made by the applicant to the application requires resubmittal of the entire application and a new completeness review. However, such revisions do not require an additional payment of fees.

• 4. Once the application is under consideration by the appropriate body, additional information or revisions requested during review do not constitute a substantive change to the application.

• • D. Concurrent Applications When a development or proposal requires review by a board or commission and requires a variance or special use permit, the applications will be reviewed first by the board or commission, which shall make a preliminary determination and a recommendation to the Zoning Board of Review, then by the Zoning Board of Review, and then again by the board or commission.

• • E. Withdrawal of Application An applicant has the right to withdraw an application at any time prior to the final decision on the application by a board or official, including the ability to withdraw the application if it has been tabled by the review body. The applicant shall submit a request for withdrawl in writing. There will be no refund of fees.

• • F. Consideration of Denied Petitions or Applications

    1. No petition for an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance or Zoning Map will be accepted by the City Clerk if a petition for the same amendment has been denied within the preceding 12 months, provided that such a petition or application may be accepted at any time with the consent of the Committee on Ordinances if it includes an affidavit which, in the opinion of said Committee on Ordinances, evidences facts that a substantial change of circumstances justify a hearing on the petition.

• 2. No application for a variance or special use permit will be accepted by the Secretary of the Zoning Board of Review if an application for the variance or special use permit has been denied within the preceding 12 months, provided that such a petition or application may be accepted at any time with the consent of the majority of the members of the Zoning Board of Review if it includes an affidavit which, in the opinion of the Zoning Board of Review, evidences facts that a substantial change of circumstances justify a new hearing on the application for a variance or special use permit. A change of ownership does not constitute a substantial change of circumstances.

• 3. An application for an administrative modification of five percent or less may not be granted administratively if within the preceding 12 months a substantially similar application for administrative modification for greater than five percent has been denied pursuant to Section 1903.C.4 and must proceed as a variance before the Zoning Board of Review.

• 4. An application for the same petition will not be heard by the Historic District Commission for the period of 12 months from the date the original petition was denied. The Historic District Commission has the right to waive this requirement for any petition if a majority of the Historic District Commission present at a meeting agree.

• • G. Fees Each application shall be accompanied by the required filing fee. The failure to pay such fee when due is grounds for refusing to process the application and renders the application incomplete. No part of the fee is returnable to the applicant. If an application is submitted by the City, then all fee requirements are waived. The filing fee is as established below:

• 1. A petition or proposed ordinance for an amendment to this Ordinance, including the Zoning Map, will not be accepted by the City Clerk unless accompanied by a filing fee which shall be deposited with the City Clerk, no part of which is returnable to the petitioner. The filing fee is a $150 processing fee plus an advertising fee, which is the actual cost of advertising, as determined by the City Clerk when the advertisement is prepared and delivered to the newspaper, plus a mailing fee, which is the actual cost of mailing the required notice to abutters, as determined by the City Clerk when the mailing is prepared.

• 2. The fee for a zoning certificate and for a zoning certificate for compliance is $25.00.

• 3. The fee for an application to the Zoning Board of Review for an appeal, variance, or special use permit is set by the City Council under a separate ordinance.

• 4. The fee for an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic District Commission is as follows: i. New Construction and Demolition: $400

• • ii. Major Alterations: $100

• • iii. Minor Alterations: $50 5. The application fees for land development projects and development plan review are established by the development review regulations adopted by the City Plan Commission pursuant to the Rhode Island General Laws §45-23.

• 6. The fee for a temporary use permit is $50.