Rhode Island General Laws
Chapter 45-23 - Subdivision of Land
Section 45-23-38. - General provisions — Minor land development and minor subdivision review.

§ 45-23-38. General provisions — Minor land development and minor subdivision review.
(a) Review stages. Minor plan review consists of two (2) stages, preliminary and final; provided, that if a street creation or extension is involved, or a request for variances and/or special-use permits are submitted, pursuant to the regulation’s unified development review provisions, a public hearing is required. The planning board may combine the approval stages, providing requirements for both stages are met by the applicant to the satisfaction of the planning officials.
(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. Requests for relief from the literal requirements of the zoning ordinance and/or for the issuance of special-use permits related to minor subdivisions and/or minor land-development projects that are submitted under a zoning ordinance’s unified development review provisions shall be included as part of the preliminary plan application, pursuant to § 45-23-50.1(b).
(c) Certification. The application shall be certified, in writing, complete or incomplete by the administrative officer within twenty-five (25) days or within fifteen (15) days if no street creation or extension is required, and/or unified development review is not requested, according to the provisions of § 45-23-36(b). 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 fourteen (14) days after its resubmission.
(d) Technical review committee. The technical review committee, if established, will review the application and will comment and make recommendations to the planning board. The application will be referred to the planning board as a whole if there is no technical review committee. When reviewed by a technical review committee:
(1) If the land-development or subdivision application does not include a request for unified development review and the plan is approved by a majority of the committee members, the application is forwarded to the planning board with a recommendation for preliminary plan approval without further review.
(2) If the plan is not approved by a majority vote of the committee members, or the application includes a request for unified development review, the minor land-development and subdivision application is referred to the planning board.
(e) 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.
(f) Decision. If no street creation or extension is required, the planning board 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, 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.
(g) 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.
(h) Final plan. The planning board may delegate final plan review and approval to either the administrative officer or the 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.
(i) Expiration of approval. Approval of a minor land-development or subdivision plan expires ninety (90) days 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.
History of Section.P.L. 1992, ch. 385, § 1; P.L. 1996, ch. 404, § 36; P.L. 1999, ch. 157, § 1; P.L. 2008, ch. 224, § 1; P.L. 2008, ch. 464, § 1; P.L. 2016, ch. 527, § 2.

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