East Greenwich City Zoning Code
ARTICLE IV
Substandard Lots of Record
§ 260-11 Creation of substandard lots.
No lot of record shall be reduced in area or subdivided so that yards, other open spaces, total area, and/or frontage shall be less than prescribed for the zone in which the lot is located.
§ 260-12 Existing substandard lots of record.
[Amended 12-11-2023 by Ord. No. 920-C]
A.
Minimum lot size.
(1)
A single substandard lot of record located in any zone may be used for permitted and accessory uses as allowed in the respective zoning district, provided that the parcel has a minimum of 35 feet of frontage on a public road and a minimum lot area equal to at least 3,500 square feet where municipal sewer is available.
(2)
If a substandard lot does not have municipal sewers, the minimum lot area shall be at least 20,000 square feet and an approved individual sewage disposal system (ISDS) shall be required.
B.
Merger provision. If two or more contiguous substandard lots are under common ownership on or after the effective date of this chapter, such lots shall be considered to be an undivided parcel of land for the purpose of this chapter, and no single lot or portion thereof shall be used in violation of the requirements of this chapter as to lot lines and area.
(1)
Merger prohibited for certain lots. The merger of lots shall not be required when the substandard lot of record has an area equal to or greater than the area of 50% of the lots within 200 feet of the subject lot, as confirmed by the Zoning Enforcement Officer.
C.
Notwithstanding the failure of a single substandard lot of record or contiguous lots of record to meet the dimensional and/or quantitative requirements of this Zoning Ordinance, and/or road frontage or other access requirements applicable to the district as stated in the Ordinance, a substandard lot of record shall not be required to seek any zoning relief based solely on the failure to meet minimum lot size requirements of the district in which such lot is located. The setback, frontage, and/or lot width requirements for a structure under this section shall be reduced and the maximum building coverage requirements shall be increased by the same proportion as the lot area of the substandard lot is to the minimum lot area requirement of the zoning district in which the lot is located. All proposals exceeding such reduced requirement shall proceed with a modification request under § 260-77.1 of the East Greenwich Zoning Ordinance or a dimensional variance request under Article XV of the East Greenwich Zoning Ordinance, whichever is applicable.