ADU rules in North Providence

Town Code § 35-46(a) permits one accessory dwelling unit 'within, or on the same lot as, a single-household residence in all R zones', and the § 35-39 use table marks 'Accessory dwelling units (under art. II)' Y (permitted) in R12, R8, RL, RG, IS and CP with no lot-size or footprint gate, so a detached unit is allowed by right. It must keep the lot's single-household appearance and counts toward the limit of one main residential building plus two accessory buildings per residential lot (§ 35-45). Under the Rhode Island directory convention 'yes' applies because the local by-right path is broader than the 20,000 sq ft and existing-footprint circumstances of R.I. Gen. Laws 45-24-73(a). ADUs are prohibited (N) in the CV, CG, ML, MG and OS districts.

The same § 35-46(a) allowance covers a unit 'within' the single-household residence, permitted (Y) in R12, R8, RL, RG, IS and CP. § 35-46(e) requires an ADU that is part of the house to meet the single-household dimensional regulations of § 35-40 (35-foot height, district setbacks), so additions are allowed by right if they meet those standards. Internal conversions are also by right under the state floor in 45-24-73(a)(3).

§ 35-46(a)(2) requires the ADU to be 'at least 30 percent smaller in total living area than the single-household residence, or no more than 600 square feet, whichever is smaller', with relief only by special use permit. The 600 sq ft cap is below the minimum that R.I. Gen. Laws 45-24-73(b)(1) requires every municipal size limit to allow (900 sq ft for a studio or one-bedroom, 1,200 sq ft for two bedrooms, or 60 percent of the principal dwelling's floor area if that is less), so the state floor is the operative cap; the local 70-percent-of-house ratio is more generous than the 60 percent floor. 45-24-73(b)(2)(x) also bars prohibiting up to two bedrooms. An attached unit follows the single-household dimensional rules (35-foot height).

§ 35-46(a)(3) requires the ADU to be 'in the same ownership as the single-household residence' and § 35-46(a)(4) requires that either the house or the ADU be 'occupied by the owner for at least six months of the year', an ongoing condition rather than an at-application test. State law imposes owner occupancy only for the disability-accommodation circumstance of 45-24-73(a)(1); it neither lists nor bars an owner-occupancy rule for other ADUs, so the local rule stands as written for the town's own by-right ADUs. 45-24-73(b)(2)(xii) bars revoking a legally established ADU or requiring its removal on transfer of title or occupancy, which limits how the town can enforce the rule after a sale.

§ 35-219(3): 'In addition to the two parking spaces required for the single-household dwelling unit, an additional parking space shall be provided for the accessory dwelling unit for a total of three required spaces.' The § 35-218 table repeats 'Residence with accessory apartment: 2 for principal dwelling; one for accessory apartment'. No more than two outdoor spaces may sit in the required front yard and all spaces must be surfaced (§ 35-219(1), (2)). One space is within the state cap of one space per ADU bedroom (45-24-73(b)(2)(viii)).

The § 35-39 use table marks accessory dwelling units 'Y', meaning permitted, in R12, R8, RL, RG, IS and CP, so a conforming ADU needs only zoning and building permits, consistent with the administrative-only process R.I. Gen. Laws 45-24-37(e) mandates for by-right ADUs. A special use permit from the Zoning Board of Review is needed only to exceed the local size limit (§ 35-46(a)(2)) or to legalize a noncomplying existing unit (§ 35-46(c)); since the local 600 sq ft cap is preempted by 45-24-73(b)(1), a unit within the state floor should not need that hearing. § 35-46(f) still says an ADU 'may be permitted with a special use permit in RS, RL, CL and CG zones', a legacy line naming districts (RS, CL) that no longer exist and contradicting the use table, which allows ADUs by right in RL and bars them in CG.

R.I. Gen. Laws 45-24-73(b)(8) bars offering or renting any ADU for tourist or transient use (under 30 consecutive days) or through a hosting platform. The town's definition in § 35-397 still makes an 'Accessory dwelling unit' an 'Accessory family dwelling unit ... for the sole use of one or more members of the family of the occupant or occupants of the principal residence', but 45-24-73(b)(2)(i) forbids restricting ADU tenants by familial relationship, so renting the ADU long term to anyone is lawful. § 35-46(d) prohibits taking boarders or renting rooms in either the house or the ADU. The town's only short-term rental rules are the 'lodging or guest house' special use (§ 35-149(a)(4), registration with the clerk, owner occupancy six months a year) in the IS, CP and CV districts, which cannot apply to an ADU given the state bar.