Rhode Island § 45-23-59 - Subdivision of Land

§ 45-23-59. Administration — Violations and penalties.

(a) Local regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter shall provide for a penalty for any violation of the local regulations, or for a violation of any terms or conditions of any action imposed by the planning board or of any other agency or officer charged in the regulations with enforcement of any of the provisions.

(b) Violation of the regulations include any action related to the transfer or sale of land in unapproved subdivisions. Any owner, or agent of the owner, who transfers, sells or negotiates to sell any land by reference to or exhibition of, or by other use, a plat of the subdivision before the plat has been approved by the planning board and recorded in the municipal land evidence records, is in violation of the local regulations and subject to the penalties described in this chapter.

(c) The penalty for violation shall reasonably relate to the seriousness of the offense, and shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500) for each violation, and each day of existence of any violation is deemed to be a separate offense. Any fine shall inure to the municipality.

(d) The municipality may also cause suit to be brought in the supreme or superior court, or any municipal court, including a municipal housing court having jurisdiction in the name of the municipality, to restrain the violation of, or to compel compliance with, the provisions of its local regulations. A municipality may consolidate an action for injunctive relief and/or fines under the local regulations in the superior court of the county in which the subject property is located.