§ 42-64-13. Relations with municipalities.
(a)(1) With respect to projects situated on federal land, the Rhode Island commerce corporation
is authorized to plan, construct, reconstruct, rehabilitate, alter, improve, develop,
maintain, and operate projects: (i) in conformity with the applicable provisions of
chapter 1 of title 2 except that the projects shall not require the approval of a town or city council
provided for in § 2-1-21, and (ii) without regard to the zoning or other land use ordinances, codes, plans,
or regulations of any municipality or political subdivision; provided, however, that
the exemption from the zoning or other land use ordinances, codes, plans, or regulations
shall be subject to the corporation's compliance with the provisions of this subsection
(a). Projects that are planned, constructed, reconstructed, rehabilitated, altered,
improved, or developed by the corporation on federal land in accordance with the provisions
of this subsection (a) may be maintained and operated by lessees from and successors
in interest to the corporation in the same manner as if the projects had been in existence
prior to the enactment of the zoning or other land use ordinances, codes, plans, or
regulations which, but for this chapter, would otherwise be applicable. With respect
to other projects of the commerce corporation, or projects receiving state incentives
as administered by the commerce corporation, developers are authorized to plan, construct,
reconstruct, rehabilitate, alter, improve, develop, maintain, and operate a project
subject only to the state building code and the state fire code, and all inspections
regarding any such project shall be conducted by the state building commissioner or
the commissioner's designee without regard to the building and fire codes of any municipality
or political subdivision; provided, however, that the exemption from the building
and fire codes shall be subject to the corporation's compliance with the provisions
of this subsection (a).
(2) As used in this section, "the comprehensive plan� means a comprehensive plan adopted
pursuant to chapter 22 of title 45 by a planning board or commission; "the applicable comprehensive plan� shall mean
the comprehensive plan of any municipality within which any project is to be situated,
in whole or in part; and "the project plan� shall mean a general description of a
proposed project situated on federal land, describing in reasonable detail its location,
nature, and size. A zoning ordinance adopted by a municipality pursuant to chapter 24 of title 45 shall not be deemed to be a comprehensive plan nor a statement of the land use goals,
objectives, and standards.
(3) If any project plan of the corporation with respect to projects situated on federal
land conforms to the land use goals, objectives, and standards of the applicable comprehensive
plan as of the time of the corporation's adoption of the project plan, or if there
is no applicable comprehensive plan, then before proceeding with the project described
in the project plan, the corporation shall refer the project plan to the appropriate
community advisory committee which may thereafter hold any public hearings as it may
deem to be desirable for the purpose of permitting the public to comment on the project
plan. The community advisory committee shall not later than forty-five (45) days after
its receipt of the project plan, transmit its comments on the project plan, in either
written or oral form, to the corporation and thereupon, or upon the community advisory
committee's failure to take any action within the time specified, the corporation
shall be authorized to proceed with the project described in the project plan without
regard to the zoning or other land use ordinances, codes, plans, or regulations of
a municipality within which the project is to be situated in whole or in part.
(4) If any project plan of the corporation with respect to projects situated on federal
land does not conform to the land use goals, objectives, and standards of the applicable
comprehensive plan as of the time of the corporation's adoption of the project plan,
then, before proceeding with the project described in the project plan, the corporation
shall refer the project plan to the local governing body of any municipality within
which any project is to be situated, in whole or in part. The local governing body
may thereafter hold any public hearings as it may deem to be desirable for the purpose
of permitting the public to comment on the project plan. The local governing body
shall, not later than forty-five (45) days after its receipt of the project plan,
advise the corporation of its approval or disapproval of that plan. If it shall disapprove
the project plan, the corporation shall nevertheless be authorized to proceed with
the project described in the project plan (without regard to the zoning or other land
use ordinances, codes, plans, or regulations of a municipality within which the project
is to be situated in whole or in part) upon the subsequent affirmative vote of a majority
of the members of the board of directors then holding office as directors taken at
a meeting open to the public. If the local governing body approves the project plan
or fails to take any action within the time specified, the corporation shall be authorized
to proceed with the project described in the project plan without regard to the zoning
or other land use ordinances, codes, plans, or regulations of a municipality within
which the project is to be situated in whole or in part.
(5) The project plan's conformity with the applicable comprehensive plan shall be determined
by the board of directors of the corporation and its determination shall be binding
and conclusive for all purposes.
(b) With respect to projects situated on real property other than federal land, the corporation
shall plan, construct, reconstruct, rehabilitate, alter, improve, develop, maintain,
and operate projects in conformity with the applicable zoning or other land use ordinances,
codes, plans, or regulations of any municipality or political subdivision of the state
in which those projects are situated.
(c) The corporation shall, in planning, constructing, reconstructing, rehabilitating,
altering, or improving any project, comply with all requirements of state and federal
laws, codes, or regulations applicable to that planning, construction, reconstruction,
rehabilitation, alteration, or improvement. The corporation shall adopt a comprehensive
building code (which may, but need not be, the Building Officials and Code Administrators
International Code) with which all projects shall comply. That adoption shall not
preclude the corporation's later adoption of a different comprehensive building code
or of its alteration, amendment, or supplementation of any comprehensive building
code so adopted. Except as otherwise specifically provided to the contrary, no municipality
or other political subdivision of the state shall have the power to modify or change
in whole or in part the drawings, plans, or specifications for any project of the
corporation; nor to require that any person, firm, or corporation employed with respect
to that project perform work in any other or different manner than that provided by
those drawings, plans, and specifications; nor to require that any such person, firm,
or corporation obtain any approval, permit, or certificate from the municipality or
political subdivision in relation to the project; and the doing of that work by any
person, firm, or corporation in accordance with the terms of those drawings, plans,
specifications, or contracts shall not subject the person, firm, or corporation to
any liability or penalty, civil or criminal, other than as may be stated in the contracts
or may be incidental to the proper enforcement thereof; nor shall any municipality
or political subdivision have the power to require the corporation, or any lessee
or successor in interest, to obtain any approval, permit, or certificate from the
municipality or political subdivision as a condition of owning, using, maintaining,
operating, or occupying any project acquired, constructed, reconstructed, rehabilitated,
altered, or improved by the corporation or pursuant to drawings, plans, and specifications
made or approved by the corporation; provided, however, that nothing contained in
this subsection shall be deemed to relieve any person, firm, or corporation from the
necessity of obtaining from any municipality or other political subdivision of the
state any license which, but for the provisions of this chapter, would be required
in connection with the rendering of personal services or sale at retail of tangible
personal property.
(d) Except to the extent that the corporation shall expressly otherwise agree, a municipality
or political subdivision, including, but not limited to, a county, city, town, or
district, in which a project of the corporation is located, shall provide for the
project, whether then owned by the corporation or any successor in interest, police,
fire, sanitation, health protection, and other municipal services of the same character
and to the same extent as those provided for other residents of that municipality
or political subdivision, but nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to
require any municipality or political subdivision to make capital expenditures for
the sole purpose of providing any of these services for that project.
(e) In carrying out a project, the corporation shall be empowered to enter into contractual
agreements with municipalities and public corporations and those municipalities and
public corporations are authorized and empowered, notwithstanding any other law, to
enter into any contractual agreements with the corporation and to do all things necessary
to carry out their obligations under the agreements.
(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special, or local law or charter, municipalities
and public corporations are empowered to purchase, or to lease for a term not exceeding
ninety-nine (99) years, projects of the corporation, upon any terms and conditions
as may be agreed upon by the municipality or public corporation and the corporation.