Land Use And Natural Resources

The Land Use and Natural Resources Section is responsible for a range of diverse planning activities.  The primary tasks consist of maintaining and updating 8 of the 16 State Guide Plan Elements, issuing findings on various programs or funding applications for consistency with the State Guide Plan as required by State Law, and providing technical planning assistance to various federal, state, and regional organizations.  Staff of the Land Use team also focuses on implementation of the state land use plan, State Guide Plan Element 121, Land Use 2025.

Other land use related planning topics for the team include agriculture, energy, forest resources, outdoor recreation, open space, conservation development, legislation, and water resources. The Section works in partnership with municipalities, other State departments, federal agencies and programs, various state boards, committees and councils, the RI American Planning Association and non-profit entities on all of these topics.

Rhode Island Local Officials Training Program

Program Description – the Land Use and Education Team continues to deliver a standardized curriculum of training detailing land use and transportation responsibilities for local officials (volunteer members)  of local historic, planning and zoning boards and commissions as mandated by R.I. General Law §45‐70. The training is developed with the assistance of the Advisory Committee for Education. The schedule of workshops and other educational items is generally set at the beginning of each month and workshops are conducted subject to the workload of the Team and the staff availability.

Partner Agencies

• State Planning Council Advisory Committee for Education (ACE)
• University of Rhode Island  Nonpoint Source Education for Municipal Officials (URI NEMO)
• University of Rhode Island  Coastal Resources Center (URI CRC)
• Department of Environmental Management – Narragansett Bay Research Reserve, and (DEM NBRR)
• Rhode Island Historic Preservation and Heritage Commission (RIHPHC)

Outreach -  Outreach for workshops once scheduled, is conducted through the Division’s monthly newsletter issued on the first of the month. Direct emails are also sent to local planning staff for distribution to their boards and commissions for upcoming workshops. The Program generally consists of the  following tasks:

• Providing a standardized introductory 3‐hour workshop highlighting the responsibilities of the Division as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), best practices for public meetings,  and land use reviews for local officials done via Zoom meeting software.
• Conducting a one‐hour continuing education workshop updating land use planning responsibilities and other topics and municipal boards done via Zoom meeting software.
• Conducting an annual in‐person gathering of municipal local officials at a centrally held meeting location for review of selected topics from training participants’ feedback.
• Working with Partner agencies to address other special mandated education topics:
• Work through a cooperative agreement with RIHPHC to continue to provide Historical District CAMP training from the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions for both in person and virtual training for local historic district commissioners and other local officials. 
  • Work through a cooperative agreement with URI NEMO to develop an online, two‐hour stormwater / flooding training for planning board members and other local officials  using the URI Brightspace Engage learning platform. 
  • Work through a cooperative agreement with URI CRC and DEM NBRR  to develop an online course concerning climate change and sea level rise for planning board members and other local officials by updating the existing PrepRI webpage to URI Brightspace Engage learning platform for self‐directed training.

Program Contacts: Nancy Hess, Paul Gonsalves, Isabelle Gillibrand