Allows the town of Tiverton, with an aggregate of 500 or more units proposed in a comprehensive permit project, to enact a short-term emergency moratorium until the permit laws are amended.

Plain-English Summary

This bill would give the town of Tiverton, Rhode Island a special legal tool to temporarily pause large affordable housing development projects under certain conditions. Specifically, if a developer proposes a "comprehensive permit" project — a type of development that allows builders to bypass some local zoning rules when creating affordable housing — and that project involves 500 or more housing units in total, Tiverton would be allowed to declare a short-term emergency moratorium, essentially hitting a pause button on that project.

A comprehensive permit is a process under Rhode Island state law that makes it easier to build low- and moderate-income housing by limiting a town's ability to reject such projects based on local zoning rules. This bill would give Tiverton temporary authority to halt these large-scale projects while state lawmakers work on updating or changing the underlying permit laws. The moratorium would only last until those changes are made.

This bill would primarily affect the town of Tiverton, large-scale affordable housing developers who might propose projects there, and potential future residents who might live in those units. Developers could face delays in moving forward with big projects, while the town would gain more time and leverage to manage how large developments are approved and built. People in need of affordable housing could see a delay in the availability of those units in Tiverton during the moratorium period.

It is worth noting that this bill applies only to Tiverton and is narrowly focused on very large projects of 500 or more units. The bill has been referred to the Senate Housing and Municipal Government Committee, where it will be reviewed before any further action is taken.