[Adopted 8-13-1991 by Ch. No. 983 as §§ 10-31
through 10-36 of the 1991 Code]
In accordance with § 12-1-1 of the
Charter, there is established a Planning Board for the Town.
A.
The Planning Board shall consist of seven members
who shall be appointed by the Town Council for five-year terms. The
Town Manager shall be an ex officio member of the Board.
[Amended 9-28-2009 by Ch. No. 1689; 3-10-2014 by Ch. No. 1810]
B.
There shall be one auxiliary member of the Planning
Board who shall be appointed by the Town Council for a two-year term.
The auxiliary member shall sit as an active member of the Board when
and if a member of the Board is unable to serve at a meeting or hearing
and shall have the same voting rights, powers, and duties of the absent
member. Except for the Town Manager, no member or auxiliary member
shall be appointed to the Planning Board who is an employee, an elected
official, or an appointed official of the Town, state or federal government.
C.
Any vacancy which occurs on the Planning Board shall
be filled by the Town Council for the remainder of the unexpired term.
Members shall serve until their respective successors are appointed
by the Town Council; provided, however, that members shall be subject
to removal for cause, which shall include, but not be limited to,
the requirement that members shall not be absent without justifiable
reason from any two consecutive, regular, scheduled meetings of the
Board after notice is given thereon.
D.
Members
of the Planning Board, at the time of their appointment and for the
duration of their term, shall be residents and qualified to vote in
the Town of Westerly.
[Added 3-10-2014 by Ch.
No. 1810]
E.
No member
of the Planning Board shall serve more than two consecutive terms,
to be followed by a one-year hiatus, after which the member may be
appointed to this Board or another appointed Board.
[Added 10-20-2014 by
Ch. No. 1830]
A.
Following the annual appointment, the Planning Board
shall organize by electing a Chairman, a Vice Chairman and a Secretary
from among its membership, provided that the Town Manager shall not
hold any of these offices. Members of the Board shall serve without
compensation but may be reimbursed out of appropriations for any expenses
incurred in the performance of their duties.
B.
The Town Manager shall have full right of participation
in all Board deliberations, hearings and discussions, but he shall
not vote on any matter.
C.
The Board shall hold regular scheduled meetings once
a month. Special meetings shall be held at the call of the Chairman
or upon the request of two of the Board members. A report of the proceedings
of each Board meeting shall be forwarded to each member of the Town
Council.
A.
The Planning Board may make studies and prepare plans
for the utilization of the resources and the satisfaction of the needs
of the Town with respect to its physical, economic and social development
as affecting the health, safety, morale and general welfare of the
people and the economy and efficiency of community life. Such studies
and plans shall include but not be limited to the following:
[Amended 9-28-2009 by Ch. No. 1689]
(1)
The utilization of land for residential, commercial,
industrial, public, institutional, conservation and other purposes.
(2)
The location, extension and character of transportation
routes and facilities including railroads, highways, streets, sidewalks,
ferries, bridges, terminals, airports, heliports, and other facilities.
(3)
The location and character of public service and utility
systems such as water supply, drainage, sewerage, streetlighting and
power or fuel transmission.
(4)
The location and character of public facilities including
offices, recreation areas, schools, fire and police stations and other
public places and structures.
(5)
The location, quality and character of housing including
conditions of deteriorating or blighted areas, measures for combatting
blight, needs for housing various segments of the population including
persons of low and moderate income and the elderly.
(6)
The location, quality and character of business and
industry including conditions of deteriorating, declining or blighted
areas, measures to combat deterioration and decline, and means to
encourage the orderly development of commerce and industry.
(7)
Measures to abate and prevent air and water pollution.
(8)
The conservation and utilization of natural resources
including soil, ground or surface water, minerals, plant and animal
life and topographic features.
(9)
Protection and survival from disaster.
(10)
The economic and social characteristics of the Town.
(11)
Codes governing building, minimum housing, zoning,
subdivision control and others related to the control of development
and the prevention of blight.
(12)
Defining and describing current social conditions
and problems by observation, study, analysis and research; promoting
and adopting goals and standards of social well-being, and assessing
and reassessing the human resource programs and their consequences
in the community.
(13)
Preserving and restoring historic sites, areas and
buildings.
B.
The Board shall prepare for adoption by the Town Council
a Comprehensive Plan[1] for the development and improvement of the Town. Such
a plan shall contain, as a minimum, a plan of future land use, a plan
of thoroughfares, a plan of community facilities and utilities, a
plan for deteriorating or blighted neighborhoods planned for redevelopment,
rehabilitation or other improvement, designations of natural resources
and historic sites to be preserved, and statements of community goals
and objectives. Such plan shall also include recommendations for the
enactment of development controls deemed necessary to properly implement
the features of the plan, such as zoning, subdivision control, minimum
housing standards, pollution control, natural resource conservation
and other such matters. The Board shall coordinate the Comprehensive
Plan with the plans of adjacent communities and agencies of the state.
No portion of the Comprehensive Plan or modification thereto shall
be adopted by the Town Council without a public hearing. An affirmative
vote of at least four members of the Town Council shall be required
to effect any change in the Comprehensive Plan.
C.
When directed by the Town Council, the Planning Board
shall prepare and recommend to the Town Manager a capital budget for
the following year and a comprehensive five-year capital improvement
program.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
D.
The Planning Board shall administer the subdivision
regulations and control the subdivision of land pursuant to such rules
and regulations in accordance with § 12-2-1 of the Town
Charter and the provisions of the general laws of the state.[2]
E.
The Board shall file an opinion with the Town Council
on all proposed amendments to the Zoning Ordinance. At least once
every two years, the Planning Board shall review the Zoning Ordinance
and make recommendations concerning its revision to the Town Council
in accordance with the provisions of the Town Charter.
F.
The Board shall report annually to the Town Manager
and Town Council not less than 30 days prior to the anniversary date
of initial organization of the Board summarizing the work of the preceding
year and recommending plans for future development of the Town. A
copy of this report shall be forwarded to the Director of the State
Department of Administration in accordance with the provisions of
the general laws of the state. All plans and reports of the Board
shall be first submitted to the Town Manager and Town Council and
thereafter the Board may publish and distribute copies of the plans
and reports in order to promote public interest in and understanding
of the work of the Board.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
G.
The Board shall render advisory opinions on all other
matters requiring conformity with the Comprehensive Plan and undertake
such other work as may be assigned by the Town Manager in connection
with the physical growth and development of the Town. The Town Manager
shall also keep the Planning Board advised as to the modern developments
in accordance with the provisions of the Town Charter.
H.
The Board may call upon the Town Manager to provide
the services of other departments, boards, committees, or commissions
of the Town and agencies of the state and federal governments for
the assistance in performance of its designated functions and shall
cooperate with such other departments, and with state planning development.
All town officials and agencies shall, upon request, furnish the Board
such available information as it may require for its work.
I.
The Board may enter into agreements with the state
and federal or regional agencies; the Board may incur any expense
necessary therefor, but it shall not for any purpose contract for
or incur any expense greater than the amount appropriated or available
therefor.
J.
The Planning Board shall have the sole responsibility for performing all those acts necessary to prepare a Comprehensive Plan for the Town in accordance with the provisions of RIGL Title 45, Chapter 22.2, and Chapter 10 of the Town Code.
[Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I)]
K.
Pursuant
to RIGL 45–23–51, the Planning Board shall be empowered
by the Town Council, by ordinance, to adopt, modify, and amend regulations
and rules governing land-development and subdivision projects within
that municipality and to control land-development and subdivision
projects pursuant to those regulations and rules. The Planning Board
shall also provide for the administration, interpretation, and enforcement
of land-development and subdivision review regulations, pursuant to
RIGL 45–23–52.
[Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I)]
L.
When directed by the Town Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 260 of the Town Code) pursuant to RIGL 45–24–46.4 and the Town land development and subdivision review regulations pursuant to RIGL 45–23–50.1, the Planning Board shall have the power to review and approve, approve with conditions, or deny requests for variances and special-use permits submitted as part of land-development and subdivision applications.
[Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I)]
M.
Each member
of the Planning Board shall participate in training and education
classes concerning the effects of development in a floodplain and
the effects of sea-level rise once every two years. Each member shall
complete two hours of training in order to be certified for the two
years required by this subsection. Upon completion of the training,
the Planning Board member shall file with the Town Clerk a statement
asserting that the training course has been completed.
[Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I)]
A.
Any proposal for the construction of a public improvement,
for the acquisition of land for public use, or sale of capital assets
shall be first submitted to the Planning Board for its recommendation.
Nothing, however, shall be construed to prevent the proposal from
being effected in the absence of a recommendation of the Board after
30 days from the date of submission or subsequent to a negative recommendation
of the Board.
[Amended 9-28-2009 by Ch. No. 1689]
B.
All proposed ordinances and resolutions of the Town
Council which concern the existing and proposed location and arrangement
of the uses of the land; transportation routes; public facilities;
public utility systems; deteriorating or blighted neighborhoods planned
for redevelopment, rehabilitation, or other improvement; natural resources
and historic sites to be preserved; and disaster survival proposals
shall be submitted to the Board for its recommendation. Nothing, however,
shall be construed to restrict or prevent the Town Council from acting
on any ordinance or resolution contrary to or in the absence of a
recommendation of the Board.
A.
In accordance with RIGL 45-23-25 et seq., as amended,
entitled "Rhode Island Land Development and Subdivision Review Enabling
Act of 1992," the Town Council hereby empowers the Planning Board
to adopt, modify, and amend regulations and rules governing land development
and subdivision projects within the Town, and to control land development
and subdivision projects pursuant to such rules and regulations.
B.
The provisions of all regulations adopted by the Planning
Board pursuant to this section shall be set forth in text and may
incorporate appendices, maps, and other technical and graphic material,
and shall be consistent with all provisions of RIGL 45-23-25 through
45-23-74, as well as the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance of
the Town.
