Authorizes the town of Smithfield, if an aggregate of two hundred fifty (250) or more units should be proposed in comprehensive permit project(s), to enact an emergency moratorium until the permit requirement of § 45-53-4 are amended.

Plain-English Summary

This bill would give the town of Smithfield, Rhode Island a special legal tool to temporarily pause certain housing development projects under specific circumstances. Specifically, if developers propose a combined total of 250 or more housing units through a process called "comprehensive permits" — a state program designed to fast-track affordable housing construction — Smithfield would be allowed to declare an emergency moratorium, essentially hitting a pause button on those projects.

The moratorium would stay in place until the state legislature updates the rules governing how comprehensive permits work under Rhode Island law. Comprehensive permits are currently used by developers to bypass some local zoning restrictions when building low- and moderate-income housing, so this bill would give Smithfield a way to slow that process down if it feels the volume of proposed development is too large to manage under the current rules.

This bill primarily affects housing developers who want to build affordable or mixed-income housing in Smithfield, as well as residents who may be waiting for new housing options in the area. Developers could face delays in getting their projects approved, while the town would gain more control over the pace of development. People in need of affordable housing could also be affected, since a moratorium would temporarily stop new units from moving forward.

The bill has been introduced and sent to the House Municipal Government & Housing Committee, where it will be reviewed before any further action is taken.