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Town of Smithfield
Town of Smithfield Zoning Ordinance
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§ 11

ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT

ARTICLE 11 - ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT 11.1 ADOPTION, AMENDMENT & ADMINISTRATION OF ZONING ORDINANCE

A. Procedure

All applications to amend the Zoning Ordinance Text or Map(s), except those submitted by the Planning Board, must be sponsored by a Town Council member who shall introduce the proposed Ordinance Amendment for consideration by the Town Council in accordance with Section 2.13 of the Home Rule Charter. Applications without the required sponsor shall not be accepted by the Official. Other than for proposals originated by the Town Council, the Official shall be the officer to receive a proposal for adoption, amendment, or repeal of a Zoning Ordinance or Zoning Map(s). Immediately upon receipt of such proposal, the Official shall refer such proposal to the Town Council, the Municipal Planner, the Town Engineer and the Planning Board for study and recommendation. If the proposal originates with the Town Council, the Town Council shall refer such proposal to such entities. The Municipal Planner, the Town Engineer and the Planning Board shall report to the Town Council within forty-five (45) days after receipt of the proposal, each giving its findings and recommendations. The Town Council shall hold a public hearing within sixty-five (65) days of receipt of proposal, after receiving the aforementioned recommendations, giving proper notice as prescribed in this Article. The Town Council shall render a decision on any such proposal within forty- five (45) days after the date of completion of the public hearing. The provisions of this subsection pertaining to deadlines shall not be construed to apply to any extension consented to by the applicant.

B. Review by Planning Board

Among its findings and recommendations to the amendment or repeal of this Ordinance or Zoning Map, the Planning Board shall:

  1. include a statement on the general consistency of the proposal with the Comprehensive Plan of the Town, including the goals and policies statement, the implementation program, and all other applicable elements of the Comprehensive Plan; and
  2. include a demonstration of recognition and consideration of each of the applicable purposes of zoning as presented in §1.1 of this Ordinance.

C. Notice and Hearing Requirements

  1. No Zoning Ordinance shall be adopted, repealed, or amended until after a public hearing has been held upon the question before the Town Council.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 such public hearing by publication of notice in a newspaper of general circulation within the Town at least once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks prior to the date of such 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 to the proposed Ordinance. Written notice, which may be a copy of said newspaper notice, shall be mailed to the Associate Director of the Division of Planning of the Rhode Island Department of Administration, and, where applicable, to the parties specified in subsections (2), (3), (4) and (5) of this section, at least two (2) weeks prior to the hearing. Such newspaper notice shall be published as a display 184 Town of Smithfield Article 11 – Adoption and Amendment Zoning Ordinance advertisement, using a type size at least as large as the normal type size used by the newspaper in its news articles, and shall:
    1. specify the place of said hearing and the date and time of its commencement;
    2. indicate that adoption, amendment or repeal of a Zoning Ordinance is under consideration;
    3. contain a statement of the proposed amendments to the Ordinance that may be printed once in its entirety, or summarize or 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 proposal shown thereon 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 such alteration or amendment must be presented for comment in the course of said hearing.
  2. Where a proposed general amendment to an existing Zoning Ordinance includes changes in an existing Zoning Map, public notice shall be given as required by Subsection (1) of this section.
  3. 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 in Subsection (1) of this section, 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 within two hundred (200) feet of the perimeter of the area proposed for change, whether within the Town or within an adjacent city of town in which the property is located.
  4. Notice of a public hearing shall be sent by first class mail to the City or Town Council of any City or Town to which one (1) or more of the following pertain:
    1. which is located within two hundred (200) feet of the boundary of the area proposed for change; or
    2. where there is a public or quasi-public water source, or private water source that is used or is suitable for use as a public water source, within two thousand (2,000) feet of any real property that is the subject of a proposed zoning change, regardless of municipal boundaries.
  5. 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 two thousand (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 185 Town of Smithfield Article 11 – Adoption and Amendment Zoning Ordinance or municipal water company has filed with the Zoning Official 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 two thousand (2,000) feet thereof.
  6. No defect in the form of any notice under this section shall render any Ordinance or amendment invalid, unless such defect is found to be intentional or misleading.
  7. Costs of any notice required under this section shall be borne by the applicant.

D. Conditions or Limitations

In granting a Zoning Ordinance amendment, the Town Council may limit the change to one (1) or more of the permitted uses in the zone to which the subject land is re-zoned, and impose such limitations, conditions and restrictions, including without limitation: 1. requ