§ 45-33.2-25. Planning commission advisory opinion - Conditions for tax increment district. Prior to the establishment of a tax increment district and approval of a tax increment district master plan for such tax increment district, a city or town council shall:

(1) Find that the proposed tax increment district and tax increment district master plan will contribute to the economic growth or well-being of the city or town or to the betterment of the health, welfare, or safety of the inhabitants of the city or town;

(2) Transmit the tax increment district master plan to the planning commission of the city or town, if any, requesting a study of the tax increment district master plan and a written advisory opinion. The planning commission shall, within ninety (90) days, or the additional period approved by the city or town council, provide a written advisory opinion to the city or town council. The written advisory opinion shall include a determination on whether the plan is consistent with the comprehensive plan of the city or town adopted under § 45-22.2-8;

(3) Hold at least one public hearing on the proposal to establish a tax increment district. Notice of the hearing shall be published at least ten (10) days prior to the hearing in a newspaper having general circulation within the city or town and shall include:

(i) The date, time, and place of the hearing; and

(ii) The boundaries of the proposed tax increment district by legal description; and

(4) Determine whether the proposed tax increment district meets the following conditions:

(i) A portion of the real property within a tax increment district shall meet at least one of the following criteria:

(A) Be a substandard, insanitary, deteriorated, deteriorating, or blighted area;

(B) Be in need of rehabilitation, redevelopment, or conservation work; or

(C) Be suitable for industrial, commercial, residential, mixed-use or retail uses, downtown development, or transit-oriented development; and

(ii) The original assessed value of a proposed tax increment district plus the assessed value of all existing tax increment districts within a city or town may not exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the total value of taxable property within the city or town as of December 31 of the year immediately preceding the establishment of the tax increment district. Excluded from the calculation in this subdivision is any tax increment district established on or after the effective date [July 1, 2018] of § 45-33.2-3.1 and §§ 45-33.2-22 through 45-33.2-28 that consists entirely of contiguous property owned by a single taxpayer. For the purpose of this subdivision, "contiguous property" includes a parcel or parcels of land divided by a road, power line, railroad line, or right-of-way. A city or town may not establish a tax increment district if the conditions in this subdivision are not met.

History of Section. (P.L. 2018, ch. 156, § 4; P.L. 2018, ch. 292, § 4.)