The text
DIVISION 1. - GENERALLY#
Sec. 4-26. - Adopted.#
The town building code is the state building code adopted pursuant to G.L. 1956, § 23-27.3-1 et seq.
Sec. 4-27. - Permit fees.#
(a)
New construction, renovations, alterations and demolition—Residential, commercial and industrial building permit fees.
(1)
Estimated cost value (ECV) = estimated cost of work including labor and materials. Building official has discretion to increase or decrease this value.
(2)
Formula = (round up to the nearest thousand)
ESTIMATED COST VALUE FEE SCHEDULE
$1.00—$10,000.00 $13.00 per $1,000.00
$10,001.00—$50,000.00 $130.00 plus $11.00 per $1,000.00 exceeding $10,000.00
$50,001.00—No limit $570.00 plus $9.00 per $1,000.00 exceeding $50,000.00
MINIMUM FEE = $65.00
(b)
Miscellaneous fees.
(1)
State fee = (Calculated value or estimated cost value) x $1.00 per thousand; calculated on all permits. Subject to change per RI General Laws; maximum fee of $50.00 for residential structures and uses.
(2)
State radon fee = (Total square footage - decks, porches, balconies) x $0.02; calculated on new residential structures only. Subject to change per RI General Laws.
(3)
Plan review fee = (Town fee) x 20%; fee only to be assessed if plans are reviewed by the building official.
(5)
Certificate of occupancy fee = $50.00 (new structures and uses only)
(6)
Late fee = $250.00 or 50% of (town fee) whichever is greater; any entity or person performing work without a required permit is assessed this fee.
(7)
Re-inspection fee = $50.00; will be assessed should a Town of Warren inspector be required to re-inspect a project twice due to the failure of the project to pass inspection upon inspection and reinspection. This fee must be paid prior to the third inspection. There shall be no charge for the first and second inspection.
(c)
Work on town-owned property. Town fees are hereby waived for work that is performed on property that is owned by the Town of Warren. State fees, substantial completion fees and re-inspection fees are the responsibility of the contractor/owner who is performing work on property that is owned by the Town of Warren. The Warren Town Manager shall have the discretion to forward any fee waiver requests under this section to the Warren Town Council for review and approval.
(d)
Refunds. The Warren Building Official is hereby authorized to issue a refund of any fee in this section to a permit holder who has not commenced working on a project or property. Refund requests must be in writing, detailing the nature of the request. Refunds will be subject to a twenty-five (25) percent administrative fee based upon the original cost of the permit. Refunds may be considered by the building official for work on a project or property that is incomplete and the registered contractor who is responsible for the work has left the job. All of these requests must also be in writing, detailing the nature of the request.
No refunds will be considered one (1) calendar year from the date the permit was issued. The Warren Building Official or the Warren Town Manager shall have the discretion to forward any refund requests under this section to the Warren Town Council for review and approval.
(Code 1967, § 5-9; Ord. of 3-8-83; Ord. of 2-9-88; Ord. of 6-28-89; Ord. of 11-17-92; Ord. of 6-11-96 Amend. of 6-9-2003; Ord. of 5-10-2005; Ord. of 4-13-2010; Ord. of 3-12-2013; Ord. of 5-11-2021)
Cross reference— Building permits and fees required for land-disturbing activities, § 17-7.
State Law reference— Building permit fees authorized, G.L. 1956, § 23-27.3-118.0; fee computation, G.L. 1956, § 23-27.3-119.0.
Sec. 4-28. - Building inspector.#
(a)
Appointment, qualification, term. The town council in December of every year shall appoint an inspector of buildings who shall have had at least four (4) years' experience as an architect or structural engineer or as superintendent of construction and who shall hold his office for a term of one (1) year or until a qualified successor is appointed.
(b)
Powers and duties. The inspector of buildings is charged with the duty of executing the provisions of this article, the rules adopted and made a part of this chapter and any ordinances or rules in amendment thereof and in addition thereto, except as otherwise herein provided. He shall have the power and it shall be his duty to issue permits, notices and certificates; to pass upon questions relative to the mode, manner or construction or materials to be used in the erection or alteration of buildings; to require that such mode, method of construction or materials shall conform to the true intent and meaning of the several provisions of this article and of such rules, and he shall keep a record of his doings. He shall examine all buildings in the course of erection, alteration or repair as often as practicable and shall make a record of all violations of this article and such other ordinances and rules together with the street number where such violations are found, the name of the owner, lessee, occupant, architect and master mechanics and all other matters relative thereto, and shall institute as the enforcing officer any prosecution for violations. He shall examine all buildings reported dangerous, whether from fire or from any other cause, and make a record of such examinations with the name of the street and number of the building, the name of the owner, lessee and for what purpose occupied, and shall examine all buildings under application to raise, enlarge or build upon and make a record of the condition of the same.
(Code 1967, §§ 5-1, 5-2)
State Law reference— Local building official, G.L. 1956, § 23-27.3-107.1; local inspector, G.L. 1956, § 23-27.3-107.1.1.
Sec. 4-29. - Assistant building inspector.#
In the absence or inability of the inspector of buildings to perform the duties of his office, the town council may, in its discretion, appoint an assistant building inspector who shall have all the powers and duties of the inspector of buildings during such absence or inability.
(Code 1967, § 5-3)
State Law reference— Alternate local building official, G.L. 1956, § 23-27.3-107.2.
Sec. 4-30. - Unpaid taxes; building permit.#
No building permit shall be issued for new construction and alterations involving the physical expansion of any existing structure unless all past due taxes on the real estate thereon due to the town have been paid, which shall be evidenced by a certificate executed by the tax collector.
(Ord. of 5-12-92)
Sec. 4-31. - Unsafe buildings.#
(a)
Findings. The town council hereby finds that there exists in the Town of Warren buildings, structures, premises and dwellings which are substandard in structural safety, sanitary conditions, maintenance, healthful occupancy and fire protection. These conditions adversely affect the public health, safety and welfare of the community.
(b)
Purpose. To protect the public health, safety and welfare by establishing minimum standards for the condition and maintenance of all buildings, structures, premises and dwellings, and for the enforcement of those standards by the Town of Warren.
(c)
Applicability. This section shall apply to all buildings, structures, premises and dwellings situated in the Town of Warren.
(d)
Inspections. The town's building inspector shall examine every building, structure, premise and dwelling reported to be unsafe, or unsanitary, or negligently maintained, or unhealthful, or a fire hazard, or structurally unsound, or otherwise dangerous.
(e)
Determination. Any building, structure, premise or dwelling found to be unsafe, unsanitary, negligently maintained, unhealthful, a fire hazard, structurally unsound or otherwise dangerous shall be repaired, rebuilt, cleared, cleaned or demolished as deemed necessary by the building inspector.
(f)
Notice and order. The property owner shall be notified of the building inspector's findings and order for remediation by certified mail, return receipt requested, using the address of the property owner as listed on the town's tax rolls. Upon receipt of said notice, the property owner shall have thirty (30) days to comply with the order of the building inspector.
(i)
At the end of the thirty-day period allowed for the correction of any violation alleged, the building official shall reinspect the building, structure, premise or dwelling.
(ii)
If upon reinspection the building official determines the violations have not been corrected, he or she shall issue a second notice of violation and a summons requiring the property owner to appear in municipal court.
(iii)
At a hearing before the municipal court, the property owner may show cause why the violation has not been abated. Upon a showing of good cause, the municipal court may grant the property owner additional thirty (30) days to cure the violation. If good cause is not shown, or if at the end of the additional thirty-day period, the violation has not been abated, the judge of the municipal court may order the building official to record the second notice of violation in the land evidence records of the town.
(iv)
The notice shall state that a cumulative civil penalty has been imposed. No notice and lien recorded under this chapter shall be released until the violation has been abated and the penalty imposed has been paid.
(v)
All subsequent transferees of building, structure, dwelling or premise in connection with a second notice has been so recorded, shall be deemed to have notice of the continuing existence of the violations alleged, and shall be liable to all penalties and procedures by this section and by applicable rules and regulations issued pursuant thereto to the same degree as was their transferor.
(vi)
The notice, once recorded in the land evidence records, shall be effective for a period of three (3) years from the date of recording, and in the absence of an intervening renewal by the building official or by the town manager shall cease to be a notice of violation at the expiration of the three-year term.
(g)
Hearings. A property owner aggrieved by a notice of the building official issued in connection with any violation of the provision of this section may file with the municipal court a petition setting forth the grounds for contesting the notice or order.
(i)
The petition shall be filed within ten (10) days after the notice or order is served on the petitioner.
(ii)
The municipal court shall have the power to affirm, modify or revoke the notice or order, and may grant an extension of time, for the performance of any act required, of not more than one (1) additional month where the court finds that there is practical difficulty or undue hardship connected with the performance of any required by this section.
(h)
Penalties. Any property owner who has received the second order or notice of violation of this section shall be subject to cumulative civil penalty of fifty dollars ($50.00) per day for each day each violation continues after expiration of the specified period of compliance; provided, that no penalty shall be applicable while a hearing or appeal to the municipal court is pending in the matter.
(Ord. of 1-11-94(1), § I; Ord. of 10-12-99)
DIVISION 2. - DEMOLITION OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS.#
Sec. 4-32. - Demolition of buildings or structures in the Warren Voluntary Historic District; demolition defined.#
In order to preserve the historic fabric of the Town of Warren, no main or principal building or structure, as defined in section 32-130 of this Code, on any lot or parcel of land located within the following described Warren Voluntary Historic District ("WVHD"), bounded and described as follows: Beginning at a point from the Warren-Barrington Bridge, extending southerly along the shore of the Warren River, to Bridge Street, easterly along Bridge Street to Main Street, then northerly on Main Street to the East Bay Bicycle Path, then northeasterly along the east Bay Bicycle Path to the shore of the Warren River, then southerly to the point and place of the beginning, and including all properties fronting on either side of the boundary streets and the East Bay Bicycle path, shall be demolished unless the town council has granted a waiver to demolish the main or principal building or structure.
(Ord. of 10-14-97; Ord. of 8-27-2013)
Sec. 4-33. - Review of demolition applications by the Warren Voluntary Historic District Commission and the town council.#
Any application for a demolition permit for a principal building or structure, under this chapter, shall be referred by the building official to the Warren Voluntary Historic District Committee ("WVHDC") for review at a meeting with public participation. The WVHDC shall prepare a report for the town council, discussing the historical value of the building or structure, the effect of the proposed demolition on the building or structure's historical value, and the conditions, if any, for granting a waiver set out in section 4-35 of this Code. The WVHDC shall also include in the report any recommendations for the principal building or structure to replace the principal building or structure to be demolished in accordance with subsection 32-151(b) of this Code. The WVHDC shall prepare the report and transfer it to the town council within thirty (30) days from the date the application is received by the building official.
Following receipt of the report, the town council will review the report at the next regularly scheduled town council meeting, and shall vote to approve, approve with conditions or deny the application for a demolition permit by applying the standards set out in section 4-34 of this Code.
(Ord. of 10-14-97; Ord. of 8-27-2013)
Sec. 4-34. - Exterior alterations of main or principal building structures.#
(a)
The building official shall refer any application for a building permit within the district to the WVHDC that includes the alteration or removal of any historical exterior component or feature of any principal building or structure, under this chapter, that is of historic value or otherwise changes or affects the historic character of the principal building or structure. Building permits to replace siding, windows or roofs shall not be referred to the WVHDC, unless in the opinion of the building official, the proposed new siding, windows or roof will affect the historic character of the principal business or structure. The building official shall consult with the Warren Town Planner in determining the historical components of these applications.
(b)
The WVHDC shall review the permit at a meeting with public participation. The WVHDC shall issue a certificate of approval stating that the work to be performed, or the proposed alterations, will not affect the historic value of the principal building or structure, or refer the matter along with a report to the town council for a hearing set forth in section 4-35 of this chapter upon a finding that the work to performed, or the proposed alterations, will affect the historic value of the principal building or structure within thirty (30) days from the date the building permit application is received by the building official.
(c)
Applications to the Warren Planning Board and the Warren Zoning Board within the district that affect the historic exterior components or features of any principal building or structure shall be referred to the WVHDC for review and recommendation. The WVHDC shall review the application and file a written report with the respective board within thirty (30) days of the date the application is received, and in accordance with the provisions set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of this section.
(Ord. of 10-14-97; Ord. of 8-27-2013)
Sec. 4-35. - Conditions for granting a waiver to alter or demolish.#
In the case of a main or principal building or structure located in the Warren National Waterfront Historic District, the town council may grant a waiver to alter or demolish a building or structure only upon a finding that at least one (1) of the following exists: (1)
Retention of such building or structure constitutes a hazard to public safety which hazard cannot be eliminated by economic means available to the owner; or
(2)
Preservation of such building or structure would cause undue or unreasonable financial hardship to the owner; taking into account the financial resources available to the owner including sale of the building or structure to any purchaser willing to preserve such building or structure; or
(3)
Preservation of such building or structure would not be in the best interest of the community. Any property owner seeking a waiver to demolish or alter a main or principal building or structure in the Warren Waterfront Historic District shall also be required to make a showing to the town council that the proposed demolition or alteration complies with all of the requirements of the State Building Code.
(Ord. of 10-14-97; Ord. of 8-27-2013)
Sec. 4-36. - Violations and penalties.#
Any person or property owner who shall violate any provision of this division shall, upon conviction, be punished in accordance with section 1-8 of the Warren Town Code.
(Ord. of 8-27-2013)