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City of Woonsocket
City of Woonsocket Zoning Ordinance
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§ 6.21

Unified Development Review

 

6.21-1. Authorization. In accordance with the provisions of RIGL 45-23-50.1 and 45-24-46.4, the Planning Board is hereby authorized to review and approve variances and/or special-use permits, (zoning relief) for proposals undergoing review as subdivisions or land development projects. This process is to be known as unified development review, (UDR).

 

6.21-2. Application process. An Applicant shall file with the Administrative Officer an application for variances(s) and/or special-use permits(s) along with an application for the following project categories:

 

  • (1) Minor subdivision or land development project: as part of the application materials for the preliminary plan stage of review, or if combined, the first stage of review.
  • (2) Major subdivision or land development project: as part of the application materials for the master plan stage of review, or if combined, the first stage of review.

 

6.21-3. Certificate of completeness. The Administrative Officer shall review the UDR application for completeness and compliance with this section. The time period for the Administrative Officer to certify a URD application as complete or incomplete shall be the same as the time period for certifying the accompanying application for a subdivision, development plan review, or land development project. The Administrative Officer’s decision on a UDR application is appealable in the same manner as an appeal from any other decision of the Administrative Officer.

 

6.21-3.1. If an applicant has submitted a dimensional modification request to the Zoning Official, the running of the period for the Administrative Officer to certify and application as complete or incomplete will not begin until the decision on the modification is made as set forth in RIGL 45-42-46 or this Ordinance.

 

6.21-4. Public hearing. All submissions and land development project applications that include requests for variance and/or special user permits submitted pursuant to this section shall require a public hearing that meets the requirements of RIGL 45-23-42(b) and 45-23-50.1(d).

 

6.21-4.1. Timing. A public hearing on the application, including any variance and/or special-use permit requests shall be heard prior to consideration of the first stage of review by the Planning Board.

 

6.21-4.2. Notice. Public noetic of the hearing shall be given at least fourteen (14) days prior to the date of the hearing in a newspaper of local circulation within the City. The notice shall be posted in the City Clerk’s office, one (1) other municipal building in the City, and shall be accessible on the City’s website home page at least fourteen (14) days prior to the hearing. Notice shall be sent to the Applicant and to each Owner within two hundred (200) feet of the perimeter of the area included in the subdivision and/or land development project by first class mail of the date, time, and place of the hearing not less than ten (10) days prior to the hearing.

 

6.21-4.3. Additional notice. Notice of the public hearing shall be sent by the Administrative Officer to the Administrative Officer of an adjacent municipality if:

 

  • (1) The notice area extends into the adjacent municipality; or
  • (2) The development site extends into the adjacent municipality; or
  • (3) There is a potential for significant negative impact on the adjacent municipality.

 

Additional notice within watersheds shall also be sent as required in RIGL 45-23-53(b) and (c).

 

Additional notice shall also be sent to any individual or entity holding a recorded conservation or preservation restriction on the property that is the subject of the application.

 

Notice of the public hearing shall be sent by first-class mail to the planning board of any municipality 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, located within two thousand feet (2,000’) of the municipal boundaries. Notice of a public hearing shall be sent to the governing body of any state of municipal water department or agency, special water district, or private water company that has riparian rights to a surface water resources and/or surface watershed that is used, or is suitable for use, as a public water source, located within either the municipality or two thousand feet (2,000’) of the municipal boundaries; provided that a map survey has been filed with the building inspector as specified in RIGL 45-24-53(f).

 

6.21-4.4 Content of notice. The notice for the public hearing shall include the following information:

 

  • (1) The date, time and place of the hearing;
  • (2) The street address of the subject property, or if no street address is available, the distance from the nearest existing intersection in tenths of a mile; and,
  • (3) The specific zoning relief to be considered for the subdivision and/or land development project.

 

6.21-4.5. Affidavit of notice. For any notice sent by first-class mail, the sender of the notice shall submit a notarized affidavit to attest to such mailing.

 

6.21-4.6. Cost of notice. The cost of all public notice shall be borne by the Applicant.

 

6.21-5. Decision. The Planning Board shall approve, approve with conditions, or deny the request(s) for variance(s) and/or special-use permit(s) before considering the project category application. Approval of the variance(s) and/or special-use permit(s) shall be conditioned upon approval of the final plan of the project category.

 

6.21-5.1. Required Findings. The Planning Board shall address the same Findings of Fact required to be addressed by the Zoning Board of Review and shall produce and record a written decision in the same manner as the Zoning Board of Review, which may be included as part of the project category application.

 

6.21-5.2. Time periods. The time periods by which the Planning Board shall render a decision for variance(s) and/or special-use permit(s) shall be the same as the time periods by which the Planning Board shall render a decision on the applicable stage of review of the underlying type of project under review.

 

6.21-6. Expiration of approval. The expiration period of an approval of variance(s) and/or special-use permit(s) granted under this Section shall be the same as those set forth under the applicable project category.

 

6.21-7. Appeals. Decisions under this section, including request for variance(s) and/or special-use permit(s) may be appealed in accordance with the provisions of RIGL 45-23-71.

 

6.21-8. Interpretation, conflict, omission, violation & severability.

 

6.21-8.1. If any requirements of this section conflict with other requirement of zoning, the city code, or any applicable state or federal law or regular, the more restrictive requirements shall apply.

 

6.21-8.2 An approval shall not relieve an applicant of the requirement to comply with any other city code or with any applicable state of federal law or regulation.

 

6.21-8.3. Any violation of the requirements of this chapter or of any condition(s) of approval shall be subject to enforcement under the provision of section 13.6 of this Ordinance.

 

6.21-9. Severability: If any provision of this Section or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other provisions or application of the Ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision of application.

(Ch. 8558, Sec. 6, 3-3-2025)

 

 

18.1 Definitions:

 

Caregiver cultivation. Marijuana cultivation for medical use only by a single registered caregiver cardholder, as determined in RIGL 21-28.6.

 

Licensed Cultivator Means a person, as identified in RIGL Section 43-3-6, who has bccn1icensed by the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation to cultivate marijuana pursuant to RIGL section 21-28.6-16.

 

Licensed Patient cultivation. Marijuana cultivation by a single registered patient cardholder for medical use only, as defined in RIGL 21-28.6.

 

Nonresidential cooperative cultivation. Two or more cardholders who cooperatively cultivate marijuana in nonresidential locations subject to the restrictions set forth in RIGL 21-28.6-14 and this section of the Woonsocket Zoning Ordinance.

 

Residential cooperative Cultivation. Two or more cardholders who cooperatively cultivate marijuana in residential locations subject to the restrictions set forth in RIGL 21-28.6-14 and this section of the Woonsocket Zoning Ordinance.

 

SECTION 2. This Ordinance shall be immediately referred by the City Clerk in writing to the Woonsocket Planning Board for study and recommendation as to potential action.

 

SECTION 3. The City Council shall schedule a public hearing to consider this ordinance within sixty-five (65) days of receipt, and shall give notice of said hearing by publication in the Woonsocket Call at least once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks prior to the date of said hearing. Such newspaper notice shall be published as a display 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 public hearing and the date and time of its commencement;

 

  • (2) Indicate that amendment of the zoning ordinance, or part thereof, is under consideration;

 

  • (3) Contain a statement of the proposed amendments to the ordinance and map once in its entirety, with the second and third publication referencing the date of the first publication;

 

  • (4) Include· one or more maps showing existing and proposed zoning district boundaries) existing streets and roads including their names, and the city and town boundaries where appropriate.

 

  • (5) Advise those interested where and when a copy of the matter under consideration may be obtained or examined and copies; and

 

  • (6) 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 alterations or amendments must be presented for comment in the course of said hearing.

 

SECTION 4. At least two (2) weeks prior to the hearing, a copy of the newspaper notice described in Section 3 above shall be sent by the City Clerk to the Associates Director of the Division of Planning of the Rhode Island Department of Administration.

 

SECTION 5. This Ordinance shall be enacted in accordance with the provisions of Sectioi1s 45-24-27 and 45-24-72 of the Rhode Island General Laws) and amended, and shall take effect all the eleventh consecutive day following its passage by the City Council as provided in Chapter Ill, Section 9 of the Woonsocket Home Rule Charter and all Ordinances or parts of Ordinances inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.

(Ord. Ch. 8072 11-5-2018)