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Sec. 14-1. - Adoption of laws; authority; purpose.#
(a)
For the purpose of promoting the general health, safety, morals or general welfare of the citizens of the town and in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 1631 of the Public Laws of 1945 as amended by Chapter 3321 of the Public Laws of 1954, (now General Laws of Rhode Island-1956, Title 45, Chapter 23) the provisions of such public laws are hereby accepted and adopted for the town.
(b)
The rules and regulations shall be designed to make adequate provisions for traffic; to lesson traffic accidents; to promote safety from fire, flood and other dangers; to provide adequate light and air; to prevent overcrowding of land; to prevent the development of unsanitary areas for housing purposes; to secure a well-articulated street and highway system; to secure adequate drainage and the provision of erosion controls to mitigate stormwater runoff; to promote a coordinated development of unbuilt areas; to secure and appropriate allotment of land area in new developments for all the requirements of community life; to conserve natural beauty and other natural resources; to protect the Scituate Reservoir Watershed; to provide consistency with the Scituate Reservoir Watershed Management Plan; to conform to any master plan which may have been adopted; to furnish guidance for the wise and efficient expenditure of funds of public works; and to facilitate the adequate, efficient and economic provisions of transportation, water supply, sewerage, recreation and other public utilities and requisites.
(c)
All of the provisions of state law adopted by this section are hereby made applicable to the town, including the definition of terms, the provisions as to the purposes and contents of the rules and regulations to be adopted by the plan commission, the provisions as to the submission of subdivision plats to the plan commission and the approval thereof by the plan commission and the provisions as to appeals to the superior court for the county and state.
(d)
The penalties, restrictions, rights and remedies as set forth in Sections 11 and 23 of Chapter 1631 of the Public Laws of 1945 shall be applicable and available from and after January 16, 1958.
(e)
The purpose of these regulations is to establish a procedure to provide thorough, orderly and expeditious processing of land development and subdivision project applications that is in keeping with the provisions of Scituate's Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance.
(f)
Effective Date. These regulations shall take effect on December 19, 1995, and shall supersede all other subdivision regulations in effect at the time of such adoption.
(g)
Vested rights—Continuation of prior regulations. Subdivisions which have been submitted to the plan commission for approval under the provisions of the regulations in effect prior to December 19, 1995 may be continued to be reviewed by the plan commission and approved under those regulations in accordance with the following:
(1)
Final approvals. Any land developments or subdivision which, at the time of adoption of these amendments, has received final approval, or final approval with conditions, from the plan commission, may initiate or construct any part of the development, or record such plans in accordance with the subdivision regulations in effect at the time final approval was granted. The plan commission, may, in its discretion, grant extensions to any such final approval in accordance with the procedure for such extensions as set forth in the regulations in effect at the time of final approval.
(2)
Preliminary approvals. Any land developments or subdivision which, at the time of adoption of these amendments, has received preliminary approval, or preliminary approval with conditions, from the plan commission, may continue to be reviewed by the plan commission in accordance with the subdivision regulations in effect at the time preliminary approval was granted provided any one of the following conditions have been met:
a.
The final plat, including all the material required in the final plat checklist, is filed with the plan commission within one (1) year from the date of preliminary approval; or
b.
the land development or subdivision is located within an area and is of a nature to be within the jurisdiction of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) and the preliminary plans as approved by the plan commission have been filed with RIDEM for approval as required by the Freshwater Wetlands Act; or
c.
The applicant has expended significant monies in the preparation of preliminary subdivision plans in an amount that, if preliminary approval were to become void and reapplication under the revised subdivision regulations were to be required, a significant economic hardship would result. The plan commission shall determine what constitutes "significant economic hardship."
(3)
Other status. Any land development or subdivision which, at the time of adoption of these regulations, has not received final or preliminary approval; or has been reviewed by the plan commission for preliminary review but no approval therefor has been granted; or has received preliminary approval more than one (1) year prior to the date of adoption of these regulations; or for which only preapplication conference(s) has (have) been conducted shall be required to be reviewed under the revisions to the land development and subdivision regulations adopted on December 19, 1995 pursuant to the Rhode Island Land Development and Subdivision Review Enabling Act of 1992.
The plan commission shall determine vested rights for land developments or subdivisions submitted for approval prior to December 19, 1995. Appeals from a decision regarding the application status and vested rights of any subdivision shall be made to the plan commission of appeal as herein provided.