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Richmond council adopts "adaptive remediation" zoning change to spur brownfield redevelopment
Summary
The Richmond Town Council unanimously adopted an amendment to zoning chapter 18 (section 18.23.080) to permit "adaptive remediation," a flexible approach that lets developers remediate brownfield sites and reuse site area instead of preserving contaminated structures. The change applies only to a handful of active brownfield parcels and remains subject to planning board review.
The Richmond Town Council voted unanimously June 16 to adopt an amendment to Chapter 18 of the town's zoning ordinance creating an "adaptive remediation" option for parcels subject to brownfield jurisdiction.
Dylan Connley, speaking for Land Use Co., told the council the policy is designed to make economically marginal brownfield sites more viable by allowing the reuse of the site rather than requiring continued preservation of an existing contaminated structure. "The idea was to take what was a successful concept in adaptive reuse — reuse of structures — and apply it to the site, so you can spread historic structure square footage across the parcel rather than preserve a building that's effectively poisoning the ground," Connley said.
Why it matters: proponents said the change creates a built-in incentive to clean contaminated parcels by improving the potential economic value after remediation, while keeping environmental protections in place under review by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The amendment was developed with planning staff and planning board input; Connley said it earned a favorable planning board recommendation.
Council members pressed developers on several specifics, seeking clarity on how the ordinance defines height and volume limits (it caps new development to the historic structure's pre-existing mass), the method for proving historic height or volume, and a minimum open-space floor (the draft includes a 10% minimum). Connley said applicants bear the burden of proving historic dimensions through tax records, photos and other documentation and that any shortfall defaults to the base zone standards. He also said wetlands, setbacks and environmental restrictions would still limit development in practice.
Sites named in the discussion included Sherbet, Inc. (299 Church Street), Carol Products (Route 91 east of Switch Road), Brookwood Companies (36 Sherman Avenue) and Clark's Mill in Shannik Village. Connley told the council several of the town's brownfield parcels have comparatively little building square footage spread over large acreage, which informed the planning board's comfort with the approach.
The council voted to adopt the amendment after closing the public hearing. The amendment is now codified and implementation will rely on the town's major land development review and planning board oversight before any specific project can proceed.
Next steps: projects using the new adaptive remediation allowance must come before the planning board for site-specific review and compliance with DEM or EPA environmental restrictions.
