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H 8416Cities & Towns

Towns and Cities - Subdivision of Land

This bill allows Coventry to require developers to guarantee the completion of private improvements before final project approval.

Held for study
Population
Affected
15
Email Legislator
Introduced Apr 8, 2026Committee House Municipal Government & Housing

Plain-English Summary

This bill updates the rules for land development in Rhode Island, specifically for the town of Coventry. Currently, developers must guarantee that public improvements, such as town roads or sewers, will be finished before getting final approval for a subdivision project. This bill allows Coventry to require developers to also guarantee the completion of private improvements, like private roads or neighborhood amenities, before their final plans are approved. Developers can do this by finishing the construction first, providing a financial safety net called an improvement guarantee, or a combination of both.

For younger readers

When someone builds a new neighborhood, they have to promise the town they will finish important things like streets and pipes. Sometimes they have to put aside money to prove they will finish the job. Right now, this rule is mostly for things the whole town uses. This new bill makes a special rule for the town of Coventry. In Coventry, builders will also have to promise and prove they will finish private things, like a neighborhood's private street or playground, before the town says it is okay to start building and selling the houses.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Real estate developersCoventry residentsHomebuyersMunicipal plannersConstruction companies
Impacted communities
Coventry

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely. The state has broad authority to delegate zoning and subdivision powers to municipalities. Requiring performance bonds or financial guarantees as a condition for subdivision approval is a standard land-use regulation and does not generally violate due process or equal protection, even when specialized for one town.

Estimated cost
None
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Protects the welfare of the community by ensuring that corporate developers are held accountable for completing all promised private infrastructure, preventing abandoned or unsafe development sites.
  • Safeguards residents and homebuyers from predatory development practices by legally requiring financial guarantees for private community amenities before projects are approved.
  • Helps prevent localized environmental hazards that can occur when private improvements, such as private drainage or stormwater management systems, are left incomplete by developers.
  • May increase the upfront costs for developers to build new residential subdivisions, which could slow down the construction of much-needed housing during a housing shortage.
  • The additional financial burden placed on developers to secure bonds for private improvements will likely be passed on to buyers, making housing less affordable for lower-income families.
  • Creates an unequal, town-specific regulatory framework by applying these rules only to Coventry, rather than implementing a systemic, statewide standard for all communities.
For Conservatives
  • Protects local taxpayers from the financial burden of having to step in and fund incomplete private infrastructure if a developer declares bankruptcy or abandons a project.
  • Enhances local control by empowering the town of Coventry to set specific development requirements tailored to its own borders, rather than relying on blanket state mandates.
  • Defends the property rights and investments of individual homeowners by ensuring they actually receive the private amenities and infrastructure they paid for when purchasing a home.
  • Imposes additional government regulations and financial mandates on private businesses, restricting corporate freedom and free enterprise.
  • Oversteps traditional boundaries by expanding the local government's reach into private contracts and the development of purely private property.
  • Increases the cost of doing business by forcing developers to tie up capital in financial guarantees for non-municipal improvements.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 7 additions

SECTION 1. Section 45-23-46 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-23 entitled "Subdivision of Land" is hereby amended to read as follows: 45-23-46. General provisions — Construction and/or improvement guarantees.

(a) The local regulations shall require approval of the permitting authority of agreements for the completion of all required public improvements prior to final plan approval in the form of:

(1) Completion of actual construction of all improvements; (2) Improvement guarantees; or (3) Combination thereof. As to the town of Coventry, the local regulations shall require approval of the permitting authority of agreements for the completion of all required public and private improvements prior to final plan approval in the form of:

(1) Completion of actual construction of all improvements;

(2) Improvement guarantees; or

(3) Combination thereof.

(b) Where improvements are constructed without a financial guarantee, the work is to be completed prior to final approval. All construction shall be inspected by the appropriate town staff or agents in a timely manner and approved under the direction of the administrative officer and according to local regulations.

(c) Improvement guarantees shall be in an amount and with all necessary conditions to secure for the municipality the actual construction and complete installation of all the required improvements, within the period specified by the permitting authority. The amount shall be based on actual cost estimates for all required public improvements and these estimates shall be reviewed and approved by the permitting authority. The permitting authority may fix the guarantee in a reasonable amount in excess of the estimated costs to anticipate for economic or construction conditions. Local regulations may include provisions for the review and/or upgrade of guarantees.

(d) The security shall be in the forms of financial instruments set forth in local regulations and shall enable the municipality to gain timely access to the secured funds, for cause. The local regulations shall provide at least three (3) acceptable forms of financial security and the approving authority shall not limit the security to one specific form of the acceptable forms set forth in the local regulations.

(e) The local regulations shall establish procedures for the setting of improvement guarantee amounts; for inspections of improvements; for acceptance of improvements by the municipality; and for the release of the improvement guarantees to the applicant. Procedures may include provisions for partial releases of the guarantees as stages of the improvements are completed, inspected, and approved under the coordination of the administrative officer and reported to the permitting authority.

(f) In the cases of developments and subdivisions that are being approved and constructed in phases, the permitting authority shall specify improvement guarantee requirements related to each particular phase.

(g) The permitting authority may also require maintenance guarantees to be provided for a one-year period subsequent to completion, inspection, and acceptance of the improvement(s) unless there are extenuating circumstances. Such maintenance guarantee shall not exceed ten percent (10%) of the original guarantee amount, or the original cost of the public improvements if no guarantee was required.

(h) Procedures for the acceptance of required improvements shall stipulate that all improvements, once inspected and approved, shall be accepted by the municipality or other appropriate municipal agency for maintenance and/or part of the municipal system.

(i) The municipality is granted the power to enforce the guarantees by all appropriate legal and equitable remedies.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.