Section 870-RICR-30-00-6.5 - DefinitionsA. The following words and terms, when used in these Rules, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:1. "Act" means R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 42-64.21 known as the Rhode Island Tax Increment Financing Act of 2015.2. "Airport district" means the area within a one-mile radius of the outermost boundary of T.F. Green State Airport located in Warwick, Rhode Island.3. "Annual TIF payment" means that portion of the Total TIF Payment that an Applicant receives in a given year.4. "Applicant" means a Developer proposing to enter into a TIF Agreement.5. "Application" means the application, promulgated by the Corporation, which must be completed and submitted by an Applicant pursuant to the requirements of the Act and these Rules.6. "At risk business" means a business at substantial risk of moving to a viable location out-of-state as verified by the Corporation.7. "Board" means the board of directors of the Corporation.8. "Contiguous" means any area of land that is adjacent to the Project Area; land may be considered contiguous irrespective of property boundaries or any road, waterway, right-of-way, easement, railroad track, marshland, or utility line.9. "Corporation" means the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation established pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 42-64.10. "Corporation TIF fund" means a dedicated fund established at the Corporation for the purpose of depositing funds received from significant taxpayers as provided under R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-64.21-5(d) of the Act.11. "Developer" means a person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, political subdivision, or other entity that proposes to divide, divides, or causes to be divided real property into a subdivision or proposes to build, or builds a building or buildings or otherwise improves land or existing structures, which division, building, or improvement qualified for benefits under the Act.12. "Eligible revenue" means the revenues from taxes assessed and collected under R.I. Gen. Laws Chapters 44-11, 44-13, 44-14, 44-17, 44-18, 44-19, 44-30 or realized from such venue ticket sales or parking taxes as may be established and levied under state law as set forth in R.I. Gen. Laws § 43-64.21-5 of the Act.13. "Existing revenue at substantial risk of loss" means revenue resulting from the retention of one or more At Risk Businesses located in a Qualified Development Project as determined by calculating the difference between the Revenue Increment Base of the Qualifying TIF Area with the At Risk Business(es) against that Revenue Increment Base without the At Risk Business(es) shall exclude not only the revenue generated from the At Risk Business(es) but shall also exclude the revenue generated from any business(es) that are at substantial risk of closing or leaving the State if the At Risk Business(es) close or leave the State.14. "Hope community" means a municipality for which the five (5) year average percentage of families with income below the federal property level exceeds the state five (5) year average percentage, both most recently reported by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.15. "Incremental revenue" means:a. Net new revenue to the State orb. Existing revenue at substantial risk of loss to the state.16. "Industrial park" means a property-based venture zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development.17. "Letter of good standing" means a letter from the Division of Taxation certifying that the taxpayer is in good standing for purposes of these Rules; a taxpayer shall be entitled to a letter of good standing so long asa. the tax payer is current on all outstanding filings and declared tax liabilities subject to auditb. the taxpayer and the Division of Taxation have a workout payment agreement or other settlement with respect to any known delinquent tax liability and the taxpayer is current on that workout payment agreement or settlement, orc. the taxpayer has timely commenced or engaged in an administrative or judicial proceeding concerning a tax liability the status of which would otherwise preclude the issuance of a letter of good standing.18. "Net new revenue" means the actual net revenue resulting from a Qualified Development Project as determined for any given year by subtracting the Revenue Increment Base for a Qualifying TIF Area from the total net revenues generated in the Qualifying TIF Area in that given year.19. "Placed in service" means the earlier of: a. a determination by the Corporation that substantial construction or rehabilitation work has been completed which would allow for occupancy of an entire structure or some identifiable portion of a structure, orb. receipt by the Developer of a certificate, permit or other authorization allowing for occupancy of the Qualified Development Project or some identifiable portion of the Qualified Development Project by the municipal or state authority having jurisdiction.20. "Port district" means such areas that are within one mile of the Port of Davisville, Port of Providence, Port of Newport, or Port of Galilee.21. "Project area" means land or lands under common ownership or control as certified by the Corporation.22. "Project cost" means costs incurred in connection with the Qualified Development Project by the Applicant until the issuance of a permanent certificate of occupancy, or until such other time specified by the Corporation, including, but not limited to, lands, buildings, improvements, real and personal property or any interest therein, including the site, space or air rights, acquired, owned, developed or redeveloped, constructed, reconstructed, rehabilitated or improved, and any environmental remediation costs, plus reasonable soft costs as determined by the Corporation, and ancillary infrastructure projects and infrastructure improvements, as permitted in the sole discretion of the Corporation.23. "Project financing gap" means: a. The part of the total Project Cost that remains to be financed after all other sources of capital have been accounted for, including, but not limited to, applicant's equity, a reasonable assumption of debt on the project, and any other capital source that is reasonable available given the nature of the project; orb. The amount of funds that the State may invest in a Qualified Development Project to gain a competitive advantage over a viable comparable location in another state by means described in the Act and Rules.24. "Qualified development project" means a specific construction project or improvement, including lands, buildings, improvements, real and personal property or any interest therein, including lands under water, riparian rights, space rights and air rights, acquired, owned, leased, developed or redeveloped, constructed, reconstructed, rehabilitated or improved, undertaken by a Developer, owner or tenant, or both, within a specific geographic area, meeting the requirements of the Act, as set forth in the Application made to the Corporation.25. "Qualifying TIF area" means an area containing a Qualified Development Project identified by the Corporation as a priority because of its potential to generate, preserve or otherwise enhance jobs or its potential to produce, preserve or otherwise enhance housing units. The Corporation shall take into account the following factors in determining whether a Qualified Development Project is a priority: a. General or preservation of manufacturing jobs;b. Promotion of Targeted Industries;c. Location in a Port District of Airport District;d. Location in an Industrial or Research Parte. Location in a Transit Oriented Development Area;f. Location in a Hope Community;g. Location in an area designated by a municipality as a Redevelopment Area;h. Location in an area located within land approved for closure under any federal commission on base realignment and closure action.26. "Redevelopment area" means an area designated as a redevelopment area in accordance with R.I. Gen. Laws § 45-32-4.27. "Revenue increment base" means the amounts of all Eligible Revenue from sources within the Qualifying TIF Area in the calendar year preceding the year in which the TIF Agreement is executed, as certified by the Division of Taxation.28. "Research park" means a property-based venture consisting of primarily research and development facilities intended to encourage technology-led economic development that is associated with one or more institutions of higher learning.29. "Request of authorization" means a request by a Developer to the Corporation for authorization to submit an Application for a TIF Incentive.30. "State" means the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.31. "Targeted industries" means any advanced, promising or otherwise prioritized industry identified in the economic development vision and policy promulgated pursuant R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-64.17-1 or, until such time as any such economic development vision and policy is promulgated, as identified by the Corporation from time to time and published on the Corporation's website.32. "TIF agreement" means an agreement between the Corporation and a Developer, under which, in exchange for the benefits of the funding derived from qualification under the Act and these Rules, the Developer agrees to perform any work or undertaking necessary for a Qualified Development Project, including the clearance, development or redevelopment, construction, or rehabilitation of any structure or improvement of commercial, industrial, or residential property; public infrastructure; preexisting municipally-owned stadium of 10,000 seats or greater; or utilities within a Qualifying TIF Area.33. "TIF incentive" means any incentive awarded by the Corporation under the Act and these Rules.34. "Total TIF payment" means reimbursement of all or a portion of the Project Financing Gap of a Qualified Development Project from the Division of Taxation as provided under the Act and these Rules.35. "Transit oriented development area" means either of: a. an area that the Corporation, after consultation with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation and the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, designates as a Transit Oriented Development Area because it supports, or has the potential to support, development that is in close proximity to, compatible with, and supportive of public transit; such discretionary designation can occur in response to an Application for an incentive under the Act or in a request submitted by a municipality to the Corporation in a for prescribed by the Corporation on its website; orb. an area with ready access to freight rail, air, and/or marine transportation where manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, and freight forwarding operations are or could be located.870 R.I. Code R. 870-RICR-30-00-6.5
Amended effective 12/19/2018