ADU rules in New Shoreham

New Shoreham allows one ADU per lot by right in every residential zone (RA, RB, RC, RC/M and M) and up to three per lot in the commercial SC, OHC and NHC zones, with no lot-size or footprint gate; each zone's Permitted Uses list carries 'Accessory Dwelling Units (Subject to § 513)', and the Appendix B use table as amended by Ord. No. 2026-17 (10-5-2026) marks ADUs 'A' (accessory to a permitted principal use) in RA, RB, RC, RC/M, M, OHC, NHC, SC, PD and MC. Section 513B(2) lets the unit be 'a separate unit on the same lot', and the § 202 definition (Ord. No. 2022-06 and the 3-20-2024 amendment) expressly includes a detached unit or a unit in an accessory structure such as a detached garage. A detached unit must stay within the accessory-structure dimensional standards of its zone (§ 513B(10)); in RA and RB the § 514 massing limits also apply.

An ADU 'may be connected to and accessible from the principal use or building' (§ 513B(2)), and the § 202 definition covers 'a unit that is part of an expanded or remodeled primary dwelling', so internal conversions and footprint-expanding additions are both allowed by right under the same one-per-lot rule in the residential zones. Exterior changes to an existing house, or a new house designed with an integrated ADU, must stay consistent with the building's single-family character, with only one main entrance and other entrances at the side or rear (§ 513C(1)(a)). An ADU inside a lawfully nonconforming primary or accessory structure is routed to a special use permit by § 513D(1)(d) (see caveats).

Section 513B(8) caps an ADU at 1,200 square feet of living floor area and § 513B(7) at three bedrooms unless a special use permit is obtained under § 513D, which allows up to 1,500 square feet, up to four bedrooms, and conversion of a structure existing as of July 1, 2022 of up to 1,800 square feet. Living floor area excludes garage space, basements, porches and decks (§ 202 item 79 as amended by Ord. No. 2026-04, 4-15-2026). The unit must not exceed the accessory-structure dimensional standards of its zone (§ 513B(10)): accessory height is 25 ft in RA, RB, OHC and NHC, 20 ft in RC, RC/M and M, and 30 ft in SC. The 1,200 square foot by-right cap meets the state floor in R.I. Gen. Laws 45-24-73(b)(1) (at least 900 sq ft or 60 percent for a one-bedroom unit and 1,200 sq ft or 60 percent for a two-bedroom unit).

Section 513 contains no requirement that the owner live on the property, either at application or afterward; the purpose clause only mentions giving 'the owner of the primary residence' a chance to earn supplemental income. Ownership must stay undivided (single, joint or common ownership of the house and ADU; no condominiums, § 513B(3)). What the ordinance does restrict is the tenant: the ADU must be occupied by year-round Town residents (or, in commercial zones, island workers) under a recorded deed restriction and biennial owner affidavits (§ 513C and E). This matches R.I. Gen. Laws 45-24-73, which imposes owner occupancy only for the disability-accommodation circumstance in (a)(1).

Section 513B(5) requires 'a minimum of one (1) on-site, off street, parking space for each Dwelling Unit beyond what is already required for the primary use', and § 502A(1) repeats the one-space ADU standard (a single-family dwelling itself needs two spaces, one in the OHC zone, under § 502A(4)). Street parking does not count. One space per ADU is within the state cap of one space per ADU bedroom (R.I. Gen. Laws 45-24-73(b)(2)(viii)).

An ADU that meets § 513 (one per lot in residential zones, up to three per lot in SC, OHC and NHC, at most 1,200 sq ft and three bedrooms, in a conforming structure) is a listed permitted use handled through the building permit, after the owner records the occupancy declaration, files the year-round affidavit and obtains wastewater or sewer certification (§ 513E). A special use permit from the Zoning Board of Review, with a Planning Board advisory recommendation and the § 401 criteria, is needed only for the over-standard cases in § 513D: units over 1,200 sq ft or three bedrooms, a second ADU in a residential zone, more than three in a commercial zone, or an ADU in a lawfully nonconforming structure. The Expedited Approval Process in § 513D(3) lets an otherwise conforming SUP-tier unit skip the hearing by filing for a building permit with Planning Board pre-approved plans, utility approvals and an affidavit that the unit will be offered for year-round rental only. Town employee ADUs on Town-owned lots go through Planning Board development plan review (§ 513C(3)(d)).

R.I. Gen. Laws 45-24-73(b)(8) forbids offering or renting any ADU 'for tourist or transient use or through a hosting platform' (stays under 30 consecutive days), so the island's short-term rental registration (Code ch. 8 art. XII, Ord. No. 2024-14) is not a path for an ADU. Locally, in the residential zones the owner must record a deed restriction limiting occupancy to persons residing in the Town year-round (full-time residency under Code § 2-2) and barring seasonal occupancy; in the SC, OHC and NHC zones occupancy may also go to persons deriving income from employment on the Island, including seasonal occupancy by them (§ 513C(1)(c) and C(2)(b)). Every ADU must be rented only under a written rental agreement filed with the Zoning Official (§ 513F), the owner renews the occupancy affidavit every two years and within 30 days of any ownership change, and a unit left unrented or unoccupied for more than a year may be deemed abandoned (§ 513G(2)). The house and ADU must remain in undivided ownership with no condominiums (§ 513B(3)).