§ 45-53-5.1. Appeals — Judicial review.
(a) Effective January 1, 2024, as a replacement to § 45-53-5. A decision of a local review board may be appealed by the applicant or an aggrieved
party, as defined by § 45-24-31, to the superior court for the county in which the property is situated. The appeal
shall be taken within twenty (20) days after the date of the recording and posting
of the decision by the local review board, by filing with the superior court a complaint
that contains a statement of the prior proceedings and the reasons upon which the
appeal is based. The complaint shall name the local review board as the appellee and
serve the local review board with the appeal within twenty (20) days of filing of
the appeal. If an aggrieved party who or that is not the applicant files an appeal,
the original applicant shall be named as a party and served in the same manner as
the local review board.
(b) The local review board shall not be required to answer the complaint, but it shall
submit the complete local review board record to superior court within thirty (30)
days of receiving service of the complaint. Should the local review board fail to
file the record within thirty (30) days, the applicant may move for default.
(c) The appeal shall be expedited and given priority on the court calendar as soon as
proof of service of the complaint on the local review board is filed. The appeal shall
be decided as soon as possible by the superior court, without delay.
(d) The review shall be conducted by the superior court without a jury. The court shall
consider the record of the hearing before the local review board and, if it appears
to the court that additional evidence is necessary for the proper disposition of the
matter, it may allow any party to the appeal to present that evidence in open court,
which evidence, along with the record, constitutes the record upon which the determination
of the court is made.
(e) The superior court shall review the appeal under the following standards:
(1) Whether the decision was arbitrary and capricious or clearly erroneous in light of
considerations regarding:
(i) The consistency of the decision to deny or condition the permit with the approved
affordable housing plan;
(ii) The extent to which the community meets or plans to meet housing needs, as defined
in an affordable housing plan, including, but not limited to, the ten percent (10%)
goal for existing low- and moderate-income housing units as a proportion of year-round
housing;
(iii) The consideration of environmental protection;
(iv) The state's need for low- and moderate-income housing;
(v) The need to protect the health and safety of the occupants of the proposed housing
or the residents of the city or town;
(vi) The need to promote better site and building design in relation to the surroundings
or to preserve open space; and
(vii) Whether the reasons for denial, local zoning or land use ordinances, requirements
and regulations are applied as equally as possible to both subsidized and unsubsidized
housing.
(f) If the appeal is by an applicant for a decision approving an application with conditions,
the superior court shall, in addition to reviewing the standards and considerations
set forth in subsection (e) of this section, determine whether such conditions and
requirements imposed make the construction or operation of the housing infeasible.
(g) The court shall not substitute its judgment for that of the local review board as
to the weight of the evidence on questions of fact. The court may affirm the decision
of the local review board or remand the case for further proceedings, or may reverse
or modify the decision if substantial rights of the appellant have been prejudiced
because of findings, inferences, conclusions, or decisions that were arbitrary, capricious
or unreasonable.
(h) An aggrieved party may, within twenty (20) days from the date of entry of the judgment
of superior court, petition the supreme court of the state of Rhode Island for a writ
of certiorari to review any questions of law involved. The petition for a writ of
certiorari shall set forth the errors claimed. Upon the filing of such a petition
with the clerk of the supreme court, the supreme court may, if it sees fit, issue
its writ of certiorari to the superior court to certify to the supreme court the record
of the record under review, or so much thereof as was submitted to the superior court
by the parties, together with any additional record of the proceedings in the superior
court.
(i) Effective January 1, 2024, all matters pending before the state housing appeals board
shall be transferred to superior court for the county in which the property is situated
by the applicant filing a complaint in superior court and providing a copy of the
complaint to the attorney representing the local review board within ten (10) days
of filing. An applicant with an appeal pending before the state housing appeals board
shall have until March 1, 2024, to file the complaint transferring the matter to superior
court for the county in which the property is situated. The parties shall be required
to file the entire record before the state housing appeals board with superior court
within forty-five (45) days of the filing of the complaint.
(j) Effective January 1, 2024, this section shall replace the provisions of § 45-53-5 and any reference in the general laws to § 45-53-5 shall mean § 45-53-5.1.