Rhode Island State Building Code (§23-27.3) (RI)
Tracked preemption from the Rhode Island overlay bundle.
Overview
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Effective
1977-01-01
Sunset
—
Authority
state
Scope
state:RI
Other Rhode Island preemptions
Rhode Island Transit-Area Parking Maximum (2026 package, provisional)Rhode Island Village / Mixed-Use Mandate (2025 Craven/Bissaillon)Rhode Island Manufactured Housing By-Right (2024 HB 7980)Rhode Island Statewide ADU Mandate (§45-24-73, 2023 H 6082)Rhode Island Objective-Design-Standards Requirement (2023 H 6090)Rhode Island I-195 Redevelopment District (§42-64.19, Providence)Rhode Island Zoning Enabling Act of 1991 (§45-24)Rhode Island Low and Moderate Income Housing Act — §45-53 (RI's 40B)
Trigger predicate
When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.
always true
Preempted fields
2 fields on the base district schema are rewritten when the trigger fires.
| Field | Op | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
building_code | supersede | RI State Building Code | Fully preemptive statewide; municipalities cannot vary |
building_code.single_egress_stair | permit | — | 2026 package amends §23-27.3 to permit single-egress-stair design for residential buildings ≤4 floors and ≤16 units (provisional, pending signing) |
Citation
Authority source
R.I. Gen. Laws §23-27.3
§ §23-27.3 (State Building Code)
Research notes
Fully preemptive statewide — municipalities cannot vary the State Building Code. Separate from zoning but interacts with dimensional interpretations (e.g., what counts as habitable area, egress requirements that drive layout). The 2026 single-staircase reform operates inside this preemption envelope and aligns with the international single-stair wave (MN, WA, OR, NY proposals). 2026 amendment is provisional pending Public Laws of 2026 publication.