Section 45-23.1-5 - Appeals(a) Any person aggrieved by any decision of the board or council may present to the supreme court a verified petition stating that the decision is illegal in whole or in part and specifying the grounds of illegality. The petition shall be presented to the court within thirty (30) days after the filing of the decision.(b) Upon presentation of the petition, the court may allow a writ of certiorari directed to the board or council to review the decision of the board or council, and shall prescribe in the writ the time within which a return shall be made, which shall not be less than ten (10) days and may be extended by the court. The allowance of the writ does not stay proceedings upon the decision appealed from, but the court may, on application, on due cause shown, grant a restraining order.(c) The board or council is not required to return the original papers acted on by it, but it is sufficient to return certified or sworn copies of the original papers, or portions of them, as may be called for by the writ. The return shall concisely state other facts that may be pertinent and material to show the grounds of the decision appealed from and shall be verified.(d) If upon the hearing, it appears to the court that testimony is necessary for the proper disposition of the matter, it may take evidence or appoint a master to take evidence as it may direct, and report the evidence to the court with his or her findings of fact and conclusions of law, which shall constitute a part of the proceedings upon which the determination of the court shall be made.(e) The court may reverse or affirm wholly or partly or may modify the decision brought up for review.R.I. Gen. Laws § 45-23.1-5