§ 45-33.2-3.1. Additional definitions.
As used in §§ 45-33.2-22 through 45-33.2-28, or as otherwise specified, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) "Betterment assessment� means a special charge that is permitted where real property
within a limited and determinable area receives a special benefit or advantage, other
than the general advantage to the community, from the construction of a public improvement.
If properties abutting or nearby the improvement are specially benefited, all or a
portion of the cost of making that improvement may be assessed on those properties.
(2) "Capital project� means a project to purchase, upgrade, improve, or extend the useful
life of property infrastructure or equipment with a useful life of more than one year.
(3) "Captured assessed value� means the amount, as a percentage or stated sum, of increased
assessed value that is utilized from year to year to finance project costs pursuant
to a tax increment district master plan.
(4) "Current assessed value� means the assessed value of all taxable real property within
a tax increment district as of December 31 of each year that the tax increment district
remains in effect.
(5) "Downtown� means a central business district or other commercial neighborhood area
of a community that serves as a center of socioeconomic interaction in the community,
characterized by a cohesive core of commercial and mixed-use buildings, often interspersed
with civic, religious and residential buildings and public spaces, that are typically
arranged along a main street and intersecting side streets and served by public infrastructure.
(6) "Increased assessed value� means the valuation amount by which the current assessed
value of a tax increment district exceeds the original assessed value of the tax increment
district. If the current assessed value is equal to or less than the original assessed
value, there is no increased assessed value.
(7) "Maintenance and operation� means all activities necessary to maintain facilities
after they have been developed and all activities necessary to operate such facilities,
including, but not limited to, informational, promotional and educational programs
and safety and surveillance activities.
(8) "Original assessed value� means the assessed value of all taxable real property within
a tax increment district as of December 31 of the tax year preceding the year in which
the tax increment district was established by a city or town council.
(9) "Project costs� means any expenditures or monetary obligations incurred or expected
to be incurred that are authorized by § 45-33.2-28 and included in a tax increment district master plan.
(10) "Tax increment� means real property taxes assessed by a city or town upon the increased
assessed value of property in the tax increment district.
(11) "Tax increment district� means that area wholly within the corporate limits of a municipality
that has been established and designated as such pursuant to § 45-33.2-23 and that is to be developed under a tax increment district master plan.
(12) "Tax increment district financial plan� means a statement of the project costs and
sources of revenue required to accomplish the tax increment district master plan.
(13) "Tax increment district master plan� means a statement of means and objectives prepared
by a city or town relating to a tax increment district designed to provide new employment
opportunities; retain existing employment; provide housing opportunities; improve
or broaden the tax base; or construct or improve the physical facilities and structures
through the development of industrial, commercial, residential, retail, and mixed
use, transit-oriented development, downtown development, or any combination thereof,
as described in § 45-33.2-26.
(14) "Tax year� means the period of time beginning on July 1 and ending on the succeeding
June 30 or such other twelve-month (12) period adopted as the tax year of a city or
town.
(15) "Transit� means transportation systems in which people are conveyed by means other
than their own vehicles, including, but not limited to, bus systems, street cars,
ferries, light rail, and other rail systems.
(16) "Transit facility� means a place providing access to transit services, including,
but not limited to, bus stops, bus stations, interchanges on a highway used by one
or more transit providers, ferry landings, train stations, shuttle terminals, and
bus rapid transit stops.
(17) "Transit-oriented development� means the development of residential, commercial, and
employment centers within one-half (½) mile or walking distance of a transit facility,
including rail and bus rapid transit, and services that meet transit supportive standards
for land uses, built environment densities, and walkable environments, in order to
facilitate and encourage the use of those services. Transit-oriented development includes,
but is not limited to, transit vehicles such as buses, ferries, vans, rail conveyances,
and related equipment; bus shelters and other transit-related structures; benches,
signs, and other transit-related infrastructure; bicycle-lane construction and other
bicycle-related improvements; pedestrian improvements, such as crosswalks, crosswalk
signals and warning systems, and crosswalk curb treatments; and the industrial, commercial,
residential, retail, and mixed-use portions of transit-oriented development projects.