Cranston Committee Backs Limits on Paved Surfaces for New Building

Homeowners and builders in Cranston could face limits on how much of a lot is covered by roofs, driveways and parking, ranging from 15% in the largest-lot zones to 70% in multifamily and some commercial-residential zones. Driveways and parking count unless built with a state-approved pervious surface. New projects would need stormwater mitigation, and where the city requires a drainage system, its maintenance manual must be recorded before a certificate of occupancy is issued. Accessory structures under 150 square feet and pools with patios of 150 square feet or less are exempt. The ordinance still goes before the full City Council.

Cranston, R.I. — Cranston's Ordinance Committee on Wednesday approved a stormwater zoning ordinance that would cap how much of a lot can be covered by roofs, driveways, parking and other hard surfaces. The caps vary by zoning district, from 15% to 70%, according to the Cranston Public Works Committee and Ordinance Committee's published meeting recording.

The measure, Ordinance 07-20-01, is sponsored by Councilwoman Bridget R. Graziano. It also requires stormwater mitigation for new construction and sets rules for recording maintenance manuals for drainage systems. The committee adopted a series of amendments by roll call and then approved the amended ordinance. All six members present voted yes on each vote: Graziano, Emilia Vaziri, Christopher E. Buonanno, Richard D. Campopiano, Andy M. Andujar and Council President Daniel Wall.

Committee approval is a step before final action by the full City Council.

What the caps would be Impervious surface is ground that water cannot soak into, such as pavement, rooftops and most parking areas. Under an amendment Graziano read into the record, the ordinance lists a maximum total impervious coverage for each zoning district:

15% in the largest-lot residential district, identified as A-80. 30% in A-20 districts. 50% in A-12 and A-8 districts. 60% in A-6, B-1 and B-2 districts. 70% for B-2 multifamily and C-1/C-2 residential. The amendments also add a provision covering substandard lots of record, which are older lots smaller than current zoning allows.

Another change makes driveways and parking count toward the cap. All areas used for parking, or for access to parking, are considered impervious unless they are built with a pervious surface that meets Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management standards.

Maintenance manuals and exemptions One amendment applies when the ordinance requires a stormwater management system but the project does not need a state environmental permit. In that case, the system's operation and maintenance manual must be recorded in the city clerk's land evidence records before a certificate of occupancy is issued. The original draft required the manual to be recorded when the system was installed.

A later amendment exempts some small projects from stormwater mitigation:

Accessory structures under 150 square feet. If there is more than one existing or proposed structure, the full requirements still apply. Above-ground pools, and in-ground pools whose patios do not exceed 150 square feet. The committee also removed a riparian buffer zone section from the draft. A riparian buffer is a strip of land kept along a waterway. Members added a definition of "illicit discharge," taken from the state stormwater standards, describing discharges to the city's storm sewer that are not made up entirely of stormwater.

The planning commission's role Most of the evening's changes came from the city planning commission. Graziano moved to accept its recommendations as a package.

The commission's chairman spoke in favor of the ordinance during public comment. He said stormwater is one of the biggest problems raised at the commission when new housing projects come before it. He said the measure tries to fill a gap: sites under an acre are regulated by the city, while larger ones fall to the state Department of Environmental Management.

The commission voted in September to recommend the ordinance with staff changes, as this publication reported on the plan commission's review.

Campopiano asked whether changes this significant meant the ordinance had to be advertised again. The answer given at the meeting was no. Because this is a zoning ordinance, the answer went, its notice states that it may be amended at the hearing. The planning amendments had also been posted with the agenda.

An objection on existing lots One speaker during public comment referred to correspondence entered into the record. The speaker said a recommendation had been incorporated by the planning commission, but objected to one section the commission had not changed: Section 17-22-020(D).

The speaker said that section "imposes stormwater management improvements on existing lots where no development is planned." Under it, the speaker said, someone who wins approval to build on a neighboring lot would also have to go back and upgrade an existing lot with a house or other structure on it. The speaker noted that lot could be industrial or commercial. "I don't think it's right to expect that a property owner has to go upgrade an existing property," the speaker said, and asked that the section be eliminated.

The committee kept the section but amended it. Under Graziano's change, the requirement does not apply if the property owner gives the Department of Public Works engineer engineering calculations. Those calculations must show that the existing lot with a primary structure or parking lot conforms to the Rhode Island stormwater design and installation standards manual at the time of the building application. Graziano's amendment says this means no stormwater or illicit discharge flows from the existing lot into the city right-of-way or onto abutting properties.

Why the sponsor says it is needed Graziano said every new building, driveway and parking lot reduces the ground's ability to absorb rain. She said that can mean more flooding, runoff onto neighboring properties and streets, strain on drainage, and pollution in waterways.

"The purpose of this proposed ordinance is not to discourage development or housing or make it more difficult to build," she said. The goal, she said, is "making sure that today's development does not become tomorrow's infrastructure problem."

Graziano said the ordinance helps the city meet the state permit requirements for its storm sewer system. She added that it does not by itself satisfy all of the city's reporting and permitting obligations.

A resident who spoke in support pointed to the stormwater bond question on Tuesday's ballot, saying it won about 80% of the vote. Buonanno praised Graziano's work, joking, "Sometimes your stormwater comments put me to sleep," because of her level of detail. Graziano credited the planning department and planning board for their work on the ordinance.

The ordinance, as amended Wednesday, goes before the full City Council.

Cranston Committee Backs Limits on Paved Surfaces for New Building

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