During the 2023 legislative session, the Rhode Island legislature enacted a package of sweeping changes to Rhode Island’s zoning and land use laws. The goal: streamline housing development permitting in Rhode Island, resulting in increased production. Many of the new laws, however, have broader impacts that may affect property owners and developers undertaking a wide range of new development projects. The laws went into effect January 1st of this year. For those planning developments for 2024 and beyond, now is a good time to take stock of these changes and assess their potential impact.

First, the laws overhauled the standard for granting dimensional variances for the first time in over 30 years. Property owners no longer must prove that there is no other reasonable alternative way to enjoy the property unless relief is granted.  Instead, they must demonstrate only that “the relief sought is minimal to a reasonable enjoyment of the permitted use to which the property is proposed to be devoted.” This change should allow for a more realistic assessment of the potential uses of a property and allow development meeting the standard to move forward.

The dimensional variance overhaul also eliminated the requirement that applicants prove that their need for a variance is not rooted in realizing greater financial gain, or that the variance sought is the least relief necessary. The elimination of these stringent and often difficult to define standards should make obtaining a dimensional variance in Rhode Island more objective.

Second, the revised laws also impart greater clarity for obtaining special use permits. Municipalities now must establish “specific and objective” criteria for the issuance of a special-use permit for each use category requiring a special use permit. If the municipality fails to do this for a certain use category, such use category is deemed a permitted use. Requiring municipalities to define the criteria specifically gives applicants more transparency and certainty about the standard to which their applications will be held.

Third, the laws instituted substantial changes to streamline overall project review. The laws now require municipalities to give their planning boards authority to grant zoning relief at the same time they conduct review of an overall project proposal. In the past, municipalities could – but were not required to – give planning boards this authority under uniform development review. Instead, planning and zoning boards often conducted separate, sequential reviews, with a planning board issuing an advisory opinion to the zoning board for the zoning board’s subsequent consideration and approval. Now, a planning board can make binding decisions on zoning matters. This procedure should save substantial time in the permitting process, and minimize the need for applications to bounce back and forth between boards.

Finally, the changes also provide greater clarity and specificity regarding the definition of each category of subdivision and land development project. Minor subdivisions, which may be approved administratively, may now include up to nine buildable lots (up from five). Likewise, the definition of minor land development project has expanded, and those applications also are subject to administrative approval.

This alert highlights just some of the changes to zoning and land use laws that went into effect earlier this year. Some of the other changes include, but are not limited to:

• Eliminating the State Housing Appeals Board and allowing a direct right of appeal to Superior Court from applications for low- or moderate-income housing;
• Providing that appeals from planning board decisions go directly to the Superior Court;
• Mandatory incentives and bonuses for multi-family and affordable housing; and
• Establishing a specialized land use calendar in the Superior Court to oversee administrative appeals.

These changes to Rhode Island law should enable landowners and developers to more quickly and efficiently navigate the local permitting processes and procedures and ultimately streamline development. Hinckley Allen’s Land Use & Development Group is poised to assist our clients maximize the benefits of these changes, and navigate all aspects of the process, from local to appellate review.