Procedure for issuance of building permits

A. Applications for building permits for construction of one or more dwelling units shall be submitted to the Building Official, who shall adhere to the following procedure in reviewing and issuing permits:
- (1) Completeness. The Building Official shall, upon receipt of an application submitted, examine the application, plans and all materials for completeness, which shall include all plans and materials required for a building permit under the applicable provisions of this article and the Rhode Island State Building Code. If said application, plans and materials are complete, the Building Official shall stamp it, indicating the date and time of official receipt by the Town.
- (2) Incomplete applications. If the application if incomplete and does not contain all plans and materials as required by this article and the Rhode Island State Building Code, the application, plans and materials shall be returned to the applicant, within 15 days, who will be informed by the Building Official what is missing from the submission in order to qualify as a complete application.
B. The Building Official shall not issue permits for any dwelling units in excess of the quota unless such units are exempt, as provided in § 400-165. The Building Official shall keep track of all permits issued plus complete applications submitted during the most recent quarter, beginning with the effective date of this article. If, within any quarter, the number exceeds the quota, additional building permits shall no longer be issued. Applications for additional permits shall be accumulated for action at the beginning of the next quarter, and shall be prioritized and issued under the ensuing quarter.
C. At the beginning of the next quarter, the Building Official shall add the total number of complete applications on file to the total number of permits issued during the previous three quarters. In the event that the resulting sum (current quarter applications plus the previous three quarters' accumulation) is fewer than the annual quota as defined herein, accumulated permits shall be issued up to the quarterly quota limit and new applications may be processed to such limit. In the event that the resulting sum exceeds the annual quota, the accumulated permits shall not be issued and no further permits shall be issued for that quarter.
D. The accumulation of applications may continue from one quarter to the next and permits issued within the limitations described in Subsection C above. Under no circumstances shall the number of building permits, other than those for exempt dwellings, exceed the annual quota.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
E. In the event that the number of building permits issued in any one year does not reach the annual quota, there shall be no carryover of permits to the following year.