 |
|
5/15/2025
|
Final bills in Speaker Shekarchi’s housing package pass House
|
 STATE HOUSE – House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi announced that today, the House of Representatives passed the final two pieces of legislation in his 2025 package of housing legislation: 2025-H 5804Aaa, sponsored by Speaker Shekarchi (D-Dist. 23, Warwick), and 2025-H 5799A, sponsored by Rep. Cherie Cruz (D-Dist. 58, Pawtucket).
The House has now passed all 12 bills in his fifth comprehensive suite of housing legislation since becoming Speaker in 2021.
“When I announced my commitment to tackling Rhode Island’s housing crisis, I commented that our housing shortage had been decades in the making and would take a sustained effort, over the course of years, to address. Prior to our recent efforts, the last substantive land use legislation passed in our state was in the 1990s. Since then, too many communities have become more and more restrictive about how much and what types of housing they’ll allow to be constructed. In fact, just this week, the U.S. Census released data showing that Rhode Island had the slowest rate of housing growth in the continental United States last year,” said Speaker Shekarchi. “That is simply unacceptable. Four years and almost 50 new housing laws later, we are still chipping away at the barriers that have made development in Rhode Island more costly and more cumbersome than necessary.
“Furthermore, our housing shortage and homelessness crisis are very much intertwined. It’s simple math: increased housing costs lead to increased homelessness,” continued Speaker Shekarchi. “However, we are making real, sustained progress. The General Assembly has enacted nearly 50 new housing laws, one of which created Rhode Island’s first-ever court calendar dedicated specifically to housing and land use issues. In just over a year since it was implemented, the backlog of pending cases has been cut almost in half. Additionally, 2023 had a 70% increase in building permits sought in Rhode Island – the most in a single year since before the Great Recession. I am so appreciative of all of the partners who work with me to address our housing shortage, and this progress is the result of our collaborative efforts.”
The legislation is a continuation of Speaker Shekarchi’s efforts to address Rhode Island’s housing crisis. In his previous legislative packages, Speaker Shekarchi has implemented significant reforms to make the development process in Rhode Island more consistent, concise, and equitable. The legislation has also been influenced by two housing commissions established by Speaker Shekarchi. His legislation is intended to be responsive to feedback from all stakeholders, and in that spirit, some of the legislation announced today would amend existing housing laws.
Much of the legislation stems from testimony and discussions of both commissions, which have been meeting regularly since July 2022 to address ways Rhode Island can improve and meet its affordable housing needs in a manner that is sustainable and equitable.
The bills in the 2025 housing package are:
-
Building code: 2025-H 5804Aaa, sponsored by Speaker Shekarchi would build upon legislation introduced in last year’s housing package (2024-H 7983B, 2024-S 2990A), which codified the structure of the State Building Code Office and clarified the role of the State Building Code Commissioner. This legislation would provide additional clarity and centralize roles and quorums in order to further streamline the process and centralize the duties of the state officials, employees, commissions, and boards related to building and fire codes and permitting. The bill also allows for the residential building code to apply to residential structures up to four units. This legislation was passed by the House today, May 15, 2025.
-
Expansion of electronic permitting: 2025-H 5803Aaa, sponsored by Speaker Shekarchi would build upon legislation introduced in last year’s housing package (H-2024 7978A, 2024-S 3036A) to expand the use of electronic permitting, which is mandated for planning and zoning applications by October of this year. This legislation requires that applications for the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council, and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation utilize the e-permitting system by October 2026. This legislation was passed by the House May 6, 2025.
-
Technical amendments to Zoning Enabling Act and Subdivision Act: 2025-H 5794Aaa, sponsored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert E. Craven (D-Dist. 32, North Kingstown) is based on feedback received from the Land Use Commission and various stakeholders, including local cities and towns, developers, advocates, planners and developers. The legislation seeks to clarify the processes set forth in the Zoning Enabling Act and Subdivision Act and to correct issues that are creating unnecessary delays and/or red tape. Additionally, the requirements and process for conversions of commercial and industrial structures to residential (2023-H 6090A, 2023-S 1035A) are further clarified to continue to encourage projects to convert underutilized or vacant commercial buildings. This legislation was passed by the House May 1, 2025.
-
Low and Moderate Housing Act amendments: 2025-H 5801A, sponsored by House Commission on Housing Affordability Chairwoman June S. Speakman (D-Dist. 68, Warren, Bristol) furthers the work of the Affordable Housing Commission and implements feedback received by and from the commission. The legislation builds upon substantial amendments made to Rhode Island’s Low and Moderate Housing Act via legislation sponsored by Chair Speakman (2022-H 7949Aaa, 2022-S 3046A) in 2022. This legislation further clarifies standards and findings required for development to remove subjectivity in the process and further encourages the development of projects including at least 25% affordable housing across the state. This legislation was passed by the House May 6, 2025.
-
Development of state-owned vacant properties for housing: 2025-H 5802Aaa, sponsored by Rep. Thomas E. Noret (D-Dist. 25, Coventry, West Warwick) would leverage data collected by the Commission to Study the Cost and Status of State-Owned Vacant Properties, which was established via a resolution (2022-H 7320Aaa) he sponsored to review state-owned vacant and/or abandoned properties that may be utilized for housing opportunities throughout the state. This legislation establishes a streamlined approval process to be used for such properties. This legislation was passed by the House May 6, 2025.
-
Temporary exemptions from the tax levy cap to accommodate new housing: 2025-H 5793A, sponsored by House Labor Committee Chairman Arthur J. Corvese (D-Dist. 55, North Providence) was requested by the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns; it would allow the taxes on new housing units to not be counted toward the maximum tax levy cap under certain conditions. The exemption would be contingent upon approval by the municipality and is only allowed where the new housing includes a portion of affordable units, among other criteria. This legislation was passed by the House May 1, 2025.
-
Reliance on zoning certificates: 2025-H 5795, sponsored by Rep. Tina Spears (D-Dist. 36, Charlestown, New Shoreham, South Kingstown, Westerly) would allow purchasers to reasonably rely on zoning opinions issued by local officials. Presently, when a current or prospective property owner obtains a zoning certificate, the certificate is for instructive purposes only and not binding; this amendment would remove the non-binding nature of zoning certificates to allow property owners to rely on the municipal determination of the legality of the present use. This legislation was passed by the House May 1, 2025.
-
Village/mixed-use zoning requirements: 2025-H 5800, sponsored by Chairman Craven would require municipalities to provide for village or mixed-use zoning to allow residential use in some or all areas of their commercial zoning districts. This legislation was passed by the House April 1, 2025.
-
Higher density development in areas within the urban services boundary: 2025-H 5796aa, sponsored by Rep. Jason Knight (D-Dist. 67, Barrington, Warren) is designed to encourage additional development in areas within the urban services boundary. The legislation provides that the city or town shall allow residential uses other than solely single-family units in these areas where public water and sewer are available. This legislation was passed by the House April 8, 2025.
-
Attached single family dwelling units: 2025-H 5798Aaa, sponsored by Chair Speakman, is based on feedback from housing advocates regarding the demand for lower-cost home ownership opportunities, such as townhomes. The legislation would allow such type of units where zoning already allows the same density in a vertical style, by way of tenement or other two-, three-, or multi-family structures. This legislation was passed by the House April 8, 2025.
-
Infill/oversized lot subdivisions: 2025-H 5799A, sponsored by Rep. Cherie L. Cruz (D-Dist. 58, Pawtucket) is based on feedback presented to the Land Use Commission to take advantage of underutilized land in a community. It would allow oversized lots to be subdivided if the resulting lots are equal to or greater than the lots in the immediate area. Additionally, the legislation would allow administrative modifications of certain dimensional requirements based on the average dimensional standard of the surrounding structures. This legislation was passed by the House today, May 15, 2025.
-
Co-living housing opportunities: 2025-H 5797A, sponsored by House Small Business Committee Chairwoman Carol Hagan McEntee (D-Dist. 33, South Kingstown, Narragansett) would enable municipalities to allow for the use of co-housing arrangements as energy-efficient, low-cost housing options similar to dorms in which there are common spaces, amenities, and facilities, but residents have separate private bedrooms. This housing model has been adopted by other states for seniors and young professional as a cost-effective option while preserving the community environment. This legislation was passed by the House April 1, 2025.
For more information, contact:
Emily Martineau, Deputy Director of Communications for the Office of the Speaker
State House Room 323
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-2466
|
|