WARWICK — Two bylaws voted unanimously at Annual Town Meeting in May were approved by the State Attorney General in a letter dated Friday, Aug. 3.
The first is a modification to Warwick’s zoning bylaw for regulating the storage of inoperable cars. Since Warwick adopted zoning in the 1970s, said Planning Board Chairman Ted Cady, it has been illegal to store more than one inoperable car where they are visible from a road or neighbor’s property.
“When you drive through rural areas, a lot of them are characterized by having junk cars scattered throughout the landscape,” Cady said. “We didn’t want that in Warwick.”
Previously, breaking this law was a criminal offense, Cady said. Voters at Town Meeting backed changing the punishment to a fine: first offense is a warning, second offense is $25 per car in excess of the one allowed, third and subsequent offenses are $100 per car in excess of the one allowed.
The change also allows police, Planning Board members and the building inspector to enforce this law, where previously only the building inspector could.
The second bylaw establishes revolving funds for collecting fees for town functions like dog licensing and building inspections, said Town Clerk Rosa Fratangelo.