§ 45-23-38. General provisions — Minor land development and minor subdivision review. [Effective January 1, 2024.]

(a)  Application types and review stages.

(1)  Applications requesting relief from the zoning ordinance.

(i)   Applications under this section that require relief that qualifies only as a modification under § 45-24-46 and local ordinances shall proceed by filing an application under this chapter and a request for a modification to the zoning enforcement officer. If such modification is granted, the application shall then proceed to be reviewed by the administrative officer pursuant to the applicable requirements of this section. If the modification is denied or an objection is received as set forth in § 45-24-46, such application shall proceed under unified development plan review pursuant to § 45-23-50.1.

(ii)   Applications under this section that require relief from the literal provisions of the zoning ordinance in the form of a variance or special-use permit, shall be reviewed by the planning board under unified development plan review pursuant to § 45-23-50.1, and a request for review shall accompany the preliminary plan application.

(iii)   Any application involving a street creation or extension shall be reviewed by the planning board and require a public hearing.

(2)  Other applications.   The administrative officer shall review and grant, grant with conditions, or deny all other applications under this section and may grant waivers of design standards as set forth in the local regulations and zoning ordinance. The administrative officer may utilize the technical review committee for initial review and recommendation. The local regulations shall specifically list what limited waivers an administrative officer is authorized to grant as part of their review.

(3)  Review stages.   Minor plan review consists of two (2) stages, preliminary and final; provided, that unless otherwise set forth in this section, if a street creation or extension is involved, or a request for variances and/or special-use permits is submitted, pursuant to the regulation’s unified development review provisions, a public hearing is required before the planning board. The administrative officer may combine the approval stages, providing requirements for both stages are met by the applicant to the satisfaction of the administrative officer.

(b)   Submission requirements. Any applicant requesting approval of a proposed, minor subdivision or minor land development, as defined in this chapter, shall submit to the administrative officer the items required by the local regulations.

(c)   Certification. For each applicable stage of review, the application shall be certified, in writing, complete or incomplete by the administrative officer within twenty-five (25) days of the submission so long as a completed checklist of the requirements for submission is provided as part of the submission. Such certification shall be made in accordance with the provisions of § 45-23-36(c). If no street creation or extension is required, and/or unified development review is not requested, and a completed checklist of the requirements for submission is provided as part of the submission, such application shall be certified, in writing, complete or incomplete by the administrative officer within fifteen (15) days according to the provisions of § 45-23-36(c). The running of the time period set forth in this section will be deemed stopped upon the issuance of a certificate of incompleteness of the application by the administrative officer and will recommence upon the resubmission of a corrected application by the applicant. However, in no event will the administrative officer be required to certify a corrected submission as complete or incomplete less than ten (10) days after its resubmission.

(d)  Decision on preliminary plan.  If no street creation or extension is required, the planning board or administrative officer will approve, deny, or approve with conditions, the preliminary plan within sixty-five (65) days of certification of completeness, or within any further time that is agreed to by the applicant and the board, according to the requirements of § 45-23-60 and § 45-23-63. If a street extension or creation is required, or the application is reviewed under the unified development plan review, the planning board will hold a public hearing prior to approval according to the requirements in § 45-23-42 and will approve, deny, or approve with conditions, the preliminary plan within ninety-five (95) days of certification of completeness, or within any specified time that is agreed to by the applicant and the board, according to the requirements of § 45-23-60 and § 45-23-63.

(e)  Failure to act.  Failure of the planning board to act within the period prescribed constitutes approval of the preliminary plan, and a certificate of the administrative officer as to the failure of the planning board to act within the required time and the resulting approval will be issued on request of the application.

(f)  Re-assignment to major review.  The planning board may re-assign a proposed minor project to major review only when the planning board is unable to make the positive findings required in § 45-23-60.

(g)  Final plan.  Final plans shall be reviewed and approved by either the administrative officer or technical review committee. The officer or committee will report its actions, in writing to the planning board at its next regular meeting, to be made part of the record. The administrative officer or technical review committee shall approve, deny, approve with conditions, or refer the application to the planning board based upon a finding that there is a major change within twenty-five (25) days of the certificate of completeness.

(h)  Modifications and changes to plans.

(1)   Minor changes, as defined in the local regulations, to the plans approved at any stage may be approved administratively, by the administrative officer. The changes may be authorized without additional public hearings, at the discretion of the administrative officer. All changes shall be made part of the permanent record of the project application. This provision does not prohibit the administrative officer from requesting recommendation from either the technical review committee or the permitting authority. Denial of the proposed change(s) shall be referred to the applicable permitting authority for review as a major change.

(2)    Major changes, as defined in the local regulations, to the plans approved at any stage may be approved only by the applicable permitting authority and must follow the same review and hearing process required for approval of preliminary plans, which shall include a public hearing if originally required as part of the application.

(3)    The administrative officer shall notify the applicant in writing within fourteen (14) days of submission of the final plan application if the administrative officer determines the change to be a major change.

(i)    Appeal. Decisions under this section shall be considered an appealable decision pursuant to § 45-23-71.

(j)  Expiration of approvals .  Approvals of a minor land development or subdivision plan expire one year from the date of approval unless, within that period, a plat or plan, in conformity with approval, and as defined in this act, is submitted for signature and recording as specified in § 45-23-64. Validity may be extended for a longer period, for cause shown, if requested by the application in writing, and approved by the planning board.