You are required to file a Soil Erosion Determination Application prior to issuance of a building permit within the Town of Smithfield. Additionally, large scale Residential, Commercial and Industrial construction projects all require approval under the review of the Town’s Subdivision & Land Development Regulations.  File a Soil Erosion Application and a determination will be made if the project is applicable to the Soil Erosion Control Ordinance.  If the proposed activity is applicable then the Town Engineer will require a plan conforming to the Soil Erosion Control Checklist.

You can download or view a Soil Erosion Application in Adobe Acrobat PDF format on the Forms page.

You may schedule a meeting between the Town Planner, Building Official, Zoning Official and the Town Engineer to discuss what permits are required prior to issuance of any building permits.

It is always best to request scheduling a meeting with the Town Engineer, or Assistant as opposed to arriving at the local office without an appointment.  A representative of the Engineering Staff can meet with you in the field to review the conditions.

The Town Engineers Office will be able to assist as to which utilities may be available. If sanitary sewers are available further assistance from the Engineering & Sewer Authority Department can be provided.  Further direction can also be provided dependent on which water district you are in, i.e., Smithfield Water Supply Board, Greenville Water District or Providence Water.  You should contact the respective utility company for natural gas, telephone, cable, electric, etc., for more detailed utility information; the Town typically does not have private utility information available.

Certainly, we can investigate certain activities and a resulting complaint to determine if ongoing activity requires issuance of any local permits.  If permits are required then the work activity will be stopped until any required permits are secured, both local and state.  Residents do have a right to clear up to a half-acre of trees without any local review for Erosion Control determination however.

If the construction activity is associated with an approved subdivision or land development project, the Town Planner, Building Official or Town Engineer will likely have information files relative to the construction.

The issuance of permits relative to blasting of rock or ledge, is a highly regulated activity that is permitted through the Rhode Island State Fire Marshals Offices.  Copies of all State Fire Marshal issued blasting permits are recorded in the Town Clerk’s Office and the Town has very limited ability to intervene with this State regulated activity.  The Town Offices, however are willing to assist with neighboring concerns.

Please visit the Town Engineers & Sewer Authority Offices to file a Sewer Connection Permit. Make sure you read & understand the Instruction Sheet also.  There are requirements you need to be aware of that must be included with your sewer permit application.  If you are a resident that needs to tie into existing sewers, a simple permit should be all that you need. If you are a business, new subdivision, land development project or private party that needs to tie in or extend a sewer, please set up a meeting with the Town Engineer.

You can download or view a Sewer Connection Application & Sewer Connection Requirements in Adobe Acrobat PDF format on the Forms page.

The Town of Smithfield has a local Outdoor Lighting Ordinance and Zoning Bylaws that may assist with outdoor lighting equipment and their uses relative to your concerns.

Not all local laws apply to existing residential properties, but the Town can provide limited assistance in that regard. In certain, extreme situations the matter may have to be resolved in a civil setting between the disagreeing parties.

All commercial, industrial, institutional and larger scale residential development projects are required to abide by the all the provisions within the Outdoor Lighitng Ordinance and Zoning Bylaws to prevent nuisances from becoming problematic to begin with. The Town can assist on these matters more definitively to remedy potential concerns our residents may have.

Stormwater, dollar for dollar is the most costly and common problem to resolve locally. Many small, minor nuisance type problems relate from poor drainage conditions that occur. Mitigating increases in runoff is important on any building development project, even as small as a residential building addition or paved parking driveway project. Even these small projects have the ability to create nuisance flooding issues to neighbors, local streams and small roadway drainage systems.

It is important to manage stormwater to minimize flooding and reduce water quality impairments to our storm drainage systems, local rivers and ponds. Stormwater in Smithfield does not get sent to some special treatment plant, as some individuals may believe. Stormwater ends up in our local ponds, lakes and streams and has the potential to bring all the pollutants that are on the roadway surfaces.

Fertilizers, petroleum based chemicals, metals, sediments, solid waste, biowastes (animal waste) and many other pollutant types can end up in the places we cherish to swim and fish in the most. That is why it is important to be cognizant of our activities which occur on the land surface, minimize the impacts we create and think twice about your personal handling of chemicals that could potentially impact water quality, harm biodiversity or otherwise pollute our local environment.

Please refer to the many various resource materials in the Community Storm Water Management Program page, located on the left pallet of the Town Engineers webpage.