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Town of West Greenwich, RI
Kent County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
New Laws (2) Index
[Added 3-19-2008; amended 5-10-2017; 7-11-2018; 8-8-2018]
A. 
The purpose of the Senior Village District ("SVD") is to establish design, density and dimensional criteria for a small-scaled age-restricted, multifamily development in the area located at Exit 7 along Interstate Route 95. It is the intent of this article to allow for a development that promotes high-quality design, provides for multifamily residential development where public sewer and water are available, and provides various housing choices.
B. 
It is also the purpose of the SVD to encourage development of residential uses which have little impact on services, including but not limited to public school enrollments, and which are within the capacities of the Town to provide educational services; and to permit residential densities and dwelling unit types that are compatible within a mixed-use area but which may not be compatible with other residential areas of the Town.
C. 
The purpose of the SVD is to allow senior residential uses in a transitional area between single-family dwellings, and commercial uses, and Route 95.
The Town Council, Planning Board and staff have found:
A. 
The Senior Village District to be consistent with the West Greenwich Comprehensive Plan, as amended;
B. 
The proposed site is one of the few undeveloped sites in the Town of West Greenwich that can be serviced by public water, and public sewer;
C. 
There exists a need in the Town of West Greenwich for age-restricted residential units, leasehold and fee; and
D. 
The proposed site serves as a transitional zone between single-family dwellings and Route 95.
All development within the SVD shall conform to the policies and design guidelines as set forth in the Comprehensive Community Plan. In order to demonstrate such conformity, the applicant shall be required to submit a description of all proposed development to the Planning Board as part of a master plan. This description shall be a statement, in text, maps, illustrations or other media of communication, that is designed to provide a basis for rational decision making regarding the long-term physical development of the district.
The provisions of this article shall apply only to property located in the zoning district entitled "Senior Village District (SVD)," which encompasses that area of the Town of West Greenwich located near Exit 7, specifically A.P. 1, Lot 10-1 and which shall be shown on the Official Zoning Map.
Development within the SVD shall be reviewed and approved by the Planning Board as a major land development project as provided for in this chapter, and as administered under Chapter 450, Land Development and Subdivision Regulations. A single application for a master plan shall be submitted to the Planning Board for review and approval in accordance with the Subdivision and Land Development Regulations. This application shall make note of all existing uses as well as present and future development plans for the area and within the SVD.
A. 
Permitted uses and accessory uses: single family; two family; multifamily; customary home occupations; community residences; swimming pools; subdivision parks and community centers. All other uses are prohibited.
B. 
Playgrounds are prohibited.
C. 
The Planning Board shall determine, at the time of review for approval, that the proposed use is consistent with the Comprehensive Community Plan. Changes to an approved land development project shall provided in Chapter 450, Land Development and Subdivision Regulations, § 450-25.
A. 
Permitted residential uses shall be regulated by net density as well as by the dimensional standards set forth herein. The provisions of Article II, § 400-24D, Dimensional regulations, shall not apply to uses in the SVD.
B. 
Incentives authorized. This article permits increases in residential density and reduction of certain dimensional requirements, not permitted in other zoning districts, as a municipal support program for the creation of senior housing, and as an incentive for construction of dwellings that have been documented as having relatively low impacts on public school enrollments as compared to traditional single household dwellings.
C. 
Land development projects within the SVD. Two or more multifamily structures may be located on the same lot in accordance with the following standards:
(1) 
Maximum residential density.
(a) 
Density of one multifamily age-restricted dwelling unit per 9,300 square feet of total land area; not to exceed a total of 24 units in the entire land development.
(b) 
No unit shall have more than two bedrooms.
(2) 
Commercial density: not permitted.
(3) 
Dimensional regulations for multifamily development projects:
(a) 
Minimum lot size for multifamily residential: five acres.
(b) 
Yard dimensions.
[1] 
Front (depth): 20 feet.
[2] 
Side (width): 10 feet.
[3] 
Rear (depth): 20 feet.
(c) 
Minimum separation between buildings: 15 feet between buildings.
(d) 
Maximum percentage of lot building coverage: 40%.
(e) 
Maximum impervious area: 60% of total land area, and 60% per lot.
(f) 
Maximum building height: same as RFR-2 Zoning District.
(g) 
Maximum accessory building height:
[1] 
Clubhouse, 25 feet; however, gables and other architectural elements may extend above these dimensions.
[2] 
All other structures: 15 feet.
(h) 
Two or more multifamily buildings are permitted on one parcel.
(i) 
In the SVD, only wetlands, water bodies, and their associated buffers shall be considered land unsuitable for development and shall be subtracted out of any density calculation.
(j) 
No building shall exceed one story in height.
A. 
Ratios. Parking ratios for all uses within the SVD shall be:
(1) 
Multifamily age-restricted: 1.5 spaces per dwelling unit.
(2) 
Clubhouse/meeting room: 4.0 spaces per 1,000 square feet.
B. 
Landscaping. Parking lot landscaping for all uses within the SVD shall be as provided in this chapter.
C. 
Required loading and service areas. When required, loading and other service areas such as trash dumpsters shall be placed to the rear or side of buildings in visually unobtrusive locations. Screening and landscaping shall prevent direct views of the loading areas and their driveways from adjacent properties or from public or private streets used by the general public. Screening and buffering shall be achieved through walls, fences and landscaping, and shall be visually impervious.
D. 
All outdoor refuse storage, collection and recycling areas shall be enclosed and solidly screened, which shall extend on three sides of such an area, with a gate or door on the fourth side. A brick wall, if used, shall be capped at the top. The Planning Board may modify this requirement if such area is not visible from abutting property or streets, and, in the opinion of the Planning Board, is not necessary in order to screen or buffer abutting property or streets or to otherwise meet the purposes of the Comprehensive Plan or this chapter.
E. 
Accessory parking areas for uses not located within the SVD are prohibited.
A. 
At least 40% of the total land in the SVD shall be pervious, either undisturbed or landscaped. The following uses shall be considered pervious, landscaped areas:
(1) 
Highway buffer areas.
(2) 
Pedestrian parks, town green, village commons, etc.
(3) 
Bicycle or footpaths, but excluding sidewalks.
(4) 
Lawns, landscaped or wooded areas.
B. 
Landscaping shall be evenly distributed throughout the SVD, not designated to any one section of the development; i.e., a minimum of 40% of each lot, excepting existing units. Landscaping shall be designed in accordance with the additional requirements of Chapter 450, Land Development and Subdivision Regulations, § 450-49, Landscaping standards.
A. 
A diversity of roof heights, gable orientations and volumes in new buildings shall be considered. New buildings shall be designed with traditional roof forms that are compatible with the character of the Town and other small New England towns.
B. 
Architectural elements such as dormers should be in proportion with the overall building and should also be in keeping with the surrounding building context. Exaggerated or excessively large (or small) architectural elements shall be avoided. The Planning Board shall require traditional New England style architectural drawings, or typical drawings, of the exteriors of proposed new buildings to be submitted as part of review of land development projects.
All proposed new structures in the SVD shall be serviced with public sewer and public water, both of which shall originate from off-site. Electric and communications lines shall be placed underground within the land development project.
A. 
Streets, parking areas, pedestrian areas and other actively used development in the SVD may be provided with adequate lighting while minimizing adverse impacts, such as glare and overhead sky glow, on adjacent properties and public rights-of-way. Streetlights shall be decorative and blend with the architectural style of buildings in the SVD.
B. 
The applicant shall submit a lighting plan at the preliminary stage of review, designed and stamped by a Rhode Island licensed electrical engineer.
Uses, activities or operations which violate any governmental building, fire, safety, health, environmental or other standards or regulation are prohibited.
A. 
Age restriction to 55 years and older. All residential dwelling units within the SVD shall be designed for and restricted to occupancy by at least one person aged 55 and over.
(1) 
Legal documents, including, but not limited to, homeowners' association documents, declaration of restrictions, easements, open space covenants, etc., shall be submitted as part of final plan review. The documents shall be recorded simultaneously with the final plan in the Town of West Greenwich Land Evidence Records. In addition, the developer shall give each original purchaser of a unit in the SVD a copy of all such documents.
(2) 
The final plan shall contain the following statement: "These premises are subject to age restrictions, and other restrictions, conditions, covenants, and easements that are contained in instruments recorded simultaneously with this Final Plan at Book _____ and Pages _____ of the Town of West Greenwich Land Evidence Records, and are incorporated herein by reference."
A. 
The fee for any application, in lieu of all other application fees, in the SVD shall be set from time to time by the Town Council for the following:
(1) 
Preapplication.
(2) 
Master plan.
(3) 
Preliminary residential plan.
(4) 
Final plan.
(5) 
Amendment to approved plan.
B. 
The applicant of a land development project shall deposit an amount established by the Town Council in a dedicated project review fees account as part of each application, which shall be administered in accordance with Chapter 450, Land Development and Subdivision Regulations, Article XI, § 450-41. Chapter 450, Land Development and Subdivision Regulations, Article VII, regarding guarantee of public improvements shall also apply to the SVD, where appropriate.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in either the Zoning Ordinance or the Land Development and Subdivision Regulations, structures located on property adjacent to the SVD shall be located no closer than 25 feet from the SVD zone boundary. Additionally, for new industrial or commercial development on property adjacent to the SVD, a vegetated buffer strip shall be provided according to the Land Development and Subdivision Regulations, but the width of the required buffer shall be reduced to 25 feet.