Rhode Island General Laws Title 45. Towns and Cities § 45-53-3. Definitions

(1) “Adjustment(s)” means a request or requests by the applicant to seek relief from the literal use and dimensional requirements of the municipal zoning ordinance and/or the design standards or requirements of the municipal land development and subdivision regulations.  The standard for the local review board's consideration of adjustments is set forth in § 45-53-4(d)(2)(iii)(E)(II).

(2) “Affordable housing plan” means a component of a housing element, as defined in § 45-22.2-4(1), that addresses low- and moderate-income housing needs in a city or town that is prepared in accordance with guidelines adopted by the state planning council, and/or to meet the provisions of § 45-53-4(e)(1) and (f).

(3) “Approved affordable housing plan” means an affordable housing plan that is part of an approved and unexpired local comprehensive plan as provided for in § 45-22.2-8, § 45-22.2-9, or § 45-22.2-12.

(4) “Comprehensive plan” means a comprehensive plan adopted and approved by a city or town pursuant to chapter 22.2 of this title.

(5) “Consistent with local needs” means reasonable in view of the state and local need for low- and moderate-income housing, considered with the number of low-income persons in the city or town affected and the need to protect the health and safety of the occupants of the proposed housing or of the residents of the city or town, to promote better site and building design in relation to the surroundings, or to preserve open spaces, and if the local zoning or land use ordinances, requirements, and regulations are applied as equally as possible to both subsidized and unsubsidized housing.  

(6) “Infeasible” means any condition brought about by any single factor or combination of factors, as a result of limitations imposed on the development by conditions attached to the approval of the comprehensive permit, to the extent that it makes it financially or logistically impracticable for any applicant to proceed in building or operating low- or moderate-income housing within the limitations set by the subsidizing agency of government or local review board, on the size or character of the development, on the amount or nature of the subsidy, or on the tenants, rentals, and income permissible, and without substantially changing the rent levels and unit sizes proposed by the applicant.

(7) “Letter of eligibility” means a letter issued by the Rhode Island housing and mortgage finance corporation in accordance with § 42-55-5.3(a).

(8) “Local review board” means the local planning board or commission as defined by § 45-22.2-4.

(9) “Low- or moderate-income housing” shall be synonymous with “affordable housing” as defined in § 42-128-8.1, and further means any type of housing whether built or operated by any public agency or any nonprofit organization or by any limited equity housing cooperative or any private developer, that is subsidized by a federal, state, or municipal government subsidy under any program to assist the construction or rehabilitation of affordable housing and that will remain affordable through a land lease and/or deed restriction for ninety-nine (99) years or such other period that is either agreed to by the applicant and town or prescribed by the federal, state, or municipal government subsidy program but that is not less than thirty (30) years from initial occupancy.

(10) “Monitoring agents” means those monitoring agents appointed by the executive office of housing pursuant to § 45-53-3.2 and to provide the monitoring and oversight set forth in this chapter, including, but not limited to, §§ 45-53-3.2 and 45-53-4.

(11) “Municipal government subsidy” means assistance that is made available through a city or town program sufficient to make housing affordable, as affordable housing is defined in § 42-128-8.1(d)(1);  such assistance shall include a combination of, but is not limited to, direct financial support, abatement of taxes, waiver of fees and charges, and density bonuses and/or internal subsidies, zoning incentives, and adjustments as defined in this section and any combination of forms of assistance.