For the purpose of promoting the public health,
safety, morals, and general welfare, the Johnston Town Council shall
have the power, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter
and subject to R.I.G.L. § 45-24-50, to adopt, amend, or
repeal, and to provide for the administration, interpretation, and
enforcement of this chapter, all such actions to be consistent with
and to provide for the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan.
A.
The Johnston Town Clerk shall receive all proposals
for adoption, amendment, or repeal of this chapter and/or the Zoning
Map(s). Such application shall be accompanied by a filing fee of $400,
per Resolution No. 174, payable to the Town of Johnston. The filing
fee shall be waived for any application submitted on behalf of any
Town agency.
B.
Immediately upon receipt of the proposal, the Town Clerk shall refer the proposal to the Town Council and to the Johnston Planning Board for study and recommendation. The Planning Board shall, in turn, notify and seek the advice of the Town Planner and shall report to the Town Council within 45 days after receipt of the proposal, giving its findings and recommendations as prescribed in § 340-111 of this article.
C.
Where a proposal for adoption, amendment, or repeal of this chapter or the Zoning Map is made by the Johnston Planning Board, the requirements for study by the Planning Board may be waived, provided that the proposal by the Planning Board includes its findings and recommendations pursuant to § 340-111 of this article.
D.
The Johnston Town Council shall hold a public hearing within 65 days of receipt of a proposal, giving proper notice as prescribed in § 340-112.
E.
The Town Council shall render a decision on any proposal
within 45 days after the date of completion of the public hearing.
The provisions of this section pertaining to deadlines shall not be
construed to apply to any extension consented to by an applicant.
Among its findings and recommendations to the
Town Council with respect to a proposal for adoption, amendment, or
repeal of this chapter or the Zoning Map, the Planning Board shall:
A.
Include a statement on the general consistency of
the proposal with the Johnston Comprehensive Plan, including the goals
and policies, and the implementation program, and all other applicable
elements of the Comprehensive Plan; and
A.
This chapter shall not be adopted, repealed, or amended
until after a public hearing has been held upon the question before
the Johnston Town Council. The Town Council shall first give notice
of the public hearing by publication of notice in a newspaper of general
circulation within the Town at least once each week for three successive
weeks prior to the date of the hearing, which may include the week
in which the hearing is to be held, at which hearing opportunity shall
be given to all persons interested to be heard upon the matter of
the proposed ordinance.
B.
Written notice, which may be a copy of the newspaper notice, shall be mailed to the Associate Director of the Division of Planning of the Rhode Island Department of Administration, and, where applicable, to the parties specified in Subsections C through F of this section, at least two weeks prior to the hearing. The 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 the hearing and the date and
time of its commencement;
(2)
Indicate that adoption, amendment, or repeal of the
chapter is under consideration;
(3)
Contain a statement of the proposed amendments to
the chapter that may be printed once in its entirety, or summarize
and describe the matter under consideration;
(4)
Advise those interested where and when a copy of the
matter under consideration may be obtained or examined and copied;
and
(5)
State that the proposals 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 alteration or amendment must
be presented for comment in the course of the hearing.
D.
Where a proposed amendment to the existing chapter includes a specific change in the Zoning District Map, but does not affect districts generally, public notice shall be given as required by Subsections A and B of this section, with the additional requirements that:
(1)
Notice shall include a map showing the existing and
proposed boundaries, zoning district boundaries, and existing streets
and roads and their names, and Town boundaries where appropriate;
and
(2)
Written notice of the date, time, and place of the
public hearing and the nature and purpose thereof shall be sent to
all owners of real property whose property is located in or within
not less than 200 feet of the perimeter of the area proposed for change,
whether within the Town of Johnston or within an adjacent city or
town. The notice shall be sent by registered or certified mail to
the last known address of the owners, as shown on the current real
estate tax assessment records of the Town of Johnston or an adjacent
city or town. Per Town Council Ordinance No. 931, if at least eight
different abutters do not fall within the two-hundred-foot radius
for notification to abutters, the radius for such notification shall
be increased to 500 feet. This requirement is to provide for a meaningful
public hearing, and to protect the rights of nearby landowners in
areas of the Town that are sparsely developed.
E.
Notice of a public hearing shall be sent by first
class mail to the city or town council of any city or town to which
one or more of the following pertain:
(1)
Which is located in or within not less than 200 feet
of the boundary of the area proposed for change; or
(2)
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, within 2,000 feet of any real property that is the subject
of a proposed zoning change, regardless of municipal boundaries.
F.
Notice of a public hearing shall be sent to the governing
body of any state or municipal water department or agency, special
water district, or private water company that has riparian rights
to a surface water resource and/or surface watershed that is used
or is suitable for use as a public water source and that is within
2,000 feet of any real property which is the subject of a proposed
zoning change, provided, however, that the governing body of any state
or municipal water department or agency, special water district, or
private water company has filed with the Building Inspector a map
survey, which shall be kept as a public record, showing areas of surface
water resources and/or watersheds and parcels of land within 2,000
feet thereof.
G.
No defect in the form of any notice under this § 340-112 shall render any ordinance or amendment invalid, unless the defect is found to be intentional or misleading.
I.
In granting a zoning ordinance amendment, notwithstanding
the provisions of R.I.G.L. § 45-24-37, the Town Council
may limit the change to one of the permitted uses in the zone to which
the subject land is rezoned, and impose such limitations, conditions,
and restrictions, including, without limitation:
(1)
Requiring the petitioner to obtain a permit or approval
from any and all state or local governmental agencies or instrumentalities
having jurisdiction over the land and use which are the subject of
the zoning change;
(2)
Those relating to the effectiveness or continued effectiveness
of the zoning change; and/or
(3)
Those relating to the use of the land; as it deems
necessary.
J.
The Town Clerk shall cause the limitations and conditions
so imposed to be clearly noted on the Johnston Zoning Map and recorded
in the land evidence records, provided, however, in the case of a
conditional zone change, the limitations, restrictions, and conditions
shall not be noted on the Zoning Map until the zone change has become
effective. If the permitted use for which the land has been rezoned
is abandoned or if the land is not used for the requested purpose
for a period of two years or more after the zone change becomes effective,
the Town Council may, after a public hearing as hereinbefore set forth,
change the land to its original zoning use before the petition was
filed. If any limitation, condition, or restriction in an ordinance
is held to be invalid by a court in any action, that holding shall
not cause the remainder of the ordinance to be invalid.
K.
The above requirements are to be construed as minimum
requirements.
A.
Where the Town Council, in the case of an amendment,
or the Zoning Board, in the case of a special use permit or variance,
denies an application or grants the applicant leave to withdraw the
same, the Town Council or the Zoning Board may not consider another
application request for the same amendment, special use permit or
variance for a period of two years from the date of such denial or
withdrawal, per Ordinance No. 772.
B.
The Town Council or the Zoning Board, as the case
may be, may accept such an application after one year, per Ordinance
No. 772, provided that the application is accompanied by an affidavit
setting forth facts, to the satisfaction of said Town Council or Zoning
Board, showing a substantial change of circumstances justifying a
rehearing.
