Rhode Island General Laws Title 45. Towns and Cities § 45-24.6-1. Declaration of purpose

(a) According to the United States Census Bureau estimates as of 2015, Rhode Island ranks second among the fifty (50) states in terms of population density. Notwithstanding this, there exists within the various municipalities of the state, certain large tracts of developable or blighted state-owned land, which areas represent in and of themselves and are often contiguous with areas of vital economic importance to the state. In light of this, the state declares that these tracts of state-owned land, and more specifically those tracts that are twenty (20) or more contiguous acres in size, are important state assets which require the coordination of federal, state, local, or private action to efficiently make use of these lands.

(b) It is further declared that coordination is paramount to development as time delays, redundant approvals, and local eccentricities often impede development projects.

(c) It is further declared that there is a statewide need for coordinated attention to and supervision of the development of these areas for the purpose of education, enjoyment, and welfare of the general public, the promotion of commercial and economic development, the attraction to our state of appropriate business, industrial, and tourist trade, resources, and investment, the development of an attractive environment that fosters the social welfare and health of the public.

(d) It is further declared that the developmental tools presently available to municipalities in the state do not contain sufficient flexibility to address the unique problems arising from the projects and to govern comprehensive and coordinated development of areas subject to these projects consistently with the previously-declared public needs and purposes. Proper development of these areas, consistent with the general welfare, may require designation of special land-use districts and special land-use controls, which may be more stringent or more flexible than existing zoning, planning, and other developmental tools, and the adoption, implementation, and administration of a plan that establishes a framework for development including detailed design and development criteria, regulations, and enforcement procedures.

(e) It is further declared that the most efficient and effective method to further the previously declared public policy of the state to encourage the appropriate, comprehensive, and coordinated development of these properties is to permit the creation of special economic development districts in the municipalities of the state and the creation of special economic development district commissions to adopt, implement, and administer plans of development that establish and enforce design and development criteria and regulations for the development of these areas.