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.