Pawtucket City Zoning Code
ARTICLE II
Use Regulations
§ 410-12 Table of Use Regulations; key. [1]
A.
The zoning districts as defined in this Article II are listed horizontally across the page by their abbreviated letter designation; for example, the letters "RL" denote the Residential Limited District.
B.
Permitted uses are listed by district in the Table of Use Regulations and are denoted with a "Y" for yes, meaning the use is permitted in the specific district.
C.
Uses that are not permitted are indicated by an "N" symbol in the district heading.
[Amended 8-20-2009 by Ch. No. 2928]
D.
Uses that are permitted only upon approval of the Board of Review or City Planning Commission or Joint Planning Commission, under unified development review as appropriate, are denoted with an "S" for special use permit. No special use permit shall be approved except in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
[Amended 12-20-2023 by Ch. No. 3287]
E.
Uses that are permitted as an accessory building or use are denoted with an "A."
F.
Any number of uses may be located on a lot or within a single building on a lot, provided that each use is permitted and all other requirements of the chapter are met except as provided for in § 410-60.
G.
Uses not listed are prohibited, except as described in Subsection H below. Uses with an asterisk are defined in § 410-132, Definitions, and the 2007 North American Industry Classification System codes are given to assist in the classification of uses.
[Amended 8-20-2009 by Ch. No. 2928; 5-23-2013 by Ch. No. 3028]
H.
The City of Pawtucket recognizes that it cannot conceivably keep pace with the types of uses that result from new and changing technologies. The City also recognizes the benefit in allowing some flexibility for these new uses, provided that their impacts to the City are substantially similar to existing uses. Therefore, the City has developed a process whereby a use that is not specifically listed in the Table of Use Regulations, but is substantially similar to an existing use, may be allowed without a use variance.
[Added 5-23-2013 by Ch. No. 3028]
(1)
Where a use is not specifically listed in the Table of Use Regulations, such use shall be permitted with a special use permit if both the Director of the Division of Zoning and Code Enforcement and the Director of Planning and Redevelopment, or their appointed designees, after consultation with the District City Councilor, mutually determine that the use can be classified in a substantially similar use category that is listed and allowed elsewhere in the applicable zoning district. The Director of Zoning shall make the finding that the proposed use is substantially similar to an existing allowed use based on the following criteria:
[Amended 12-20-2023 by Ch. No. 3287]
(a)
Whether the proposed use is similar in terms of hours of operation, traffic impacts, environmental impacts, and the potential for adverse impacts on surrounding properties;
(b)
Whether the proposed use is typically housed in buildings or structures similar and compatible to those used to house permitted uses in the zoning district; or
(c)
Whether the proposed use is consistent with the purpose and intent of the particular zoning district.
(2)
The Director of Planning shall make the finding that the proposed use is substantially similar to the same existing allowed use based on the use's potential impact on the intent of the Comprehensive Plan. This process will occur during the review of the certificate of zoning compliance and adhere to those existing time frames.
(3)
A proposed use that the Director of Zoning and the Director of Planning determines within 30 days of a request does not fall into a permitted use classification, unless overturned on appeal, shall be prohibited until such time as the City Council may amend the ordinance to indicate that such use is a permitted or special use in one or more zoning districts.
[Amended 12-20-2023 by Ch. No. 3287]
I.
The Table of Use Regulations sets out the uses which are allowed and prohibited within the Commercial Downtown District. The list below represents uses which are also allowed by right in the Commercial Downtown zoning district. In recent years, we have come across a number of new uses which cannot be easily classified but are desirable in the CD District because of their potential to increase activity during daytime and evening hours. This list represents uses which are allowed within the Commercial Downtown zone. Although they are new and/or difficult to classify, they are also uses that promote the purpose of the Comprehensive Plan for the Commercial Downtown district, and this section is clarifying that they are allowed by right:
[Added 12-18-2018 by Ch. No. 3176]
(1)
Mixed use, especially ground-floor retail;
(2)
Incubator*;
(3)
Photography studio;
(4)
Black box theatre*;
(5)
Cafe*;
(6)
Cultural activity*;
(7)
Gallery*;
(8)
Coworker space*;
(9)
Small design showroom, e.g., lighting, interior design, handcrafted furniture;
(10)
Film studio;
(11)
Recording studio;
(12)
Design studio;
(13)
Yoga or pilates studio (not a commercial full-service gym);
(14)
Live/work space*;
(15)
Small fabricating shops not to include industrial trade schools, and further provided that the activity does not include a use that is prohibited in the MO or MB Zoning Districts;
(16)
Cigar lounge;
(17)
Tattoo parlors;
(18)
Previously owned goods and merchandise, including antiques, collectibles, coins, consignment and stamps, excluding pawn shops;
(19)
Transit shelters*, drop-off points, bicycle rack(s) and/or corrals, and informational or retail kiosks. Layover locations for buses shall be prohibited;
(20)
Public structure or public use, including, but not limited to, public and private park, community or civic space, museum, gallery, or community center;
J.
Adaptive reuse projects.
[Added 12-20-2023 by Ch. No. 3287]
(1)
Permitted use. Adaptive reuse for the conversion of any commercial building, including offices, schools, religious facilities, medical buildings, and malls into residential units or mixed-use developments is a permitted use under the criteria described below under eligibility.
(2)
Eligibility.
(a)
Adaptive reuse development must include at least 50% of existing gross floor area developed into residential units.
(b)
There are no environmental land use restrictions recorded on the property preventing the conversion to residential use by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management or the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
(3)
Density calculations.
(a)
For projects that meet the following criteria, the residential density shall be no less than 15 dwelling units per acre:
[1]
Where the project is limited to the existing footprint, except that the footprint is allowed to be expanded to accommodate upgrades related to the building fire code, and utility requirements.
[2]
The development includes at least 20% low- and moderate-income housing.
[3]
The development has access to public sewer and water service or has access to adequate private water, such as well and/or wastewater treatment systems approved by the relevant state agency for the entire development as applicable.
(b)
For all other adaptive reuse projects, the residential density permitted in the converted structure shall be the maximum allowed that otherwise meets all standards of minimum housing and has access to public sewer and water services or has access to adequate private water, such as well and wastewater treatment systems approved by the relevant state agency for the entire development, as applicable.
(c)
The density proposed for any adaptive reuse project shall be determined to meet all public health and safety standards.
(4)
Dimensional requirements.
(a)
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, existing building setbacks shall remain and are considered legal nonconforming.
(b)
No additional encroachments shall be permitted into any nonconforming setback unless relief is granted by the permitting authority.
(c)
Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, the height of the structure shall be considered legal nonconforming if it exceeds the maximum height of the zoning district in which the structure is located.
[1]
Any rooftop construction necessary for building or fire code compliance, or utility infrastructure is included in the height exemption.
(5)
Parking requirements.
(a)
The parking requirements and design standards in Article IX of this chapter shall apply to all uses proposed as part of the project unless otherwise approved by the applicable authority except residential uses. Adaptive reuse developments are exempted from off-street parking requirements of over one space per dwelling unit.
(6)
Allowed uses within an adaptive reuse project.
(a)
Residential dwelling units are a permitted use in an adaptive reuse project regardless of the zoning district in which the structure is located, in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(7)
[1]
Editor's Note: Editor's Note: The Table of Use Regulations can be found at the end of this chapter.