Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 250 - Department of Environmental Management › Chapter 40 - Agriculture and Resource Marketing › Subchapter 20 - Marketing › Part 1 - Rules and Regulations for Enforcement of the Farm, Forest, and Open Space Act › Section 250-RICR-40-20-1.4 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. For the purposes of these regulations,
				  except as provided below, the following terms shall have the following
				  meanings:
1. "Actively devoted to agricultural
				  or horticultural use" means land used, under normally acceptable practices, in
				  the production of plants and animals useful to people including but not limited
				  to: forages and sod; fruits of all kinds including nuts, berries, grapes and
				  vegetables; floral, ornamental and greenhouse products, the growing of
				  Christmas trees; dairy animals and dairy products; poultry and poultry
				  products; sheep and sheep products; beekeeping; livestock including beef
				  cattle, swine, horses and mules, the stabling of horses; the commercial
				  breeding or grazing of any or all such animals for the production of meat,
				  milk, fiber in saleable livestock; and the production of fish, shellfish, plant
				  material and fish products through aquacultural practices.
2. "Actively managed" means forestland
				  managed in accordance with the provisions of a written forest stewardship plan
				  for the enhancement of forest resources.
3. "Agricultural operations" means as used in
				  this Chapter, includes any commercial enterprise which has as its primary
				  purpose horticulture, viticulture, viniculture, floriculture, forestry,
				  stabling of horses, dairy farming, or aquaculture, or the raising of livestock,
				  furbearing animals, poultry, or bees.
4. "Assessor" means the appointed individual
				  or elected board, or other person or agency charged with the duty of assessing
				  real property in a municipality.
5.
				  "Conservation plan" means a written plan outlining Best Management Practices
				  consistent with U.S. Department of Agriculture standards and approved by the
				  District and Director.
6.
				  "Department" means the Rhode Island Department of Environmental
				  Management.
7. "Director" means the
				  Director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management or his/her
				  authorized designee.
8. "District"
				  means the Conservation District organized under R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter
				  2-4.
9. "Dual use generation unit"
				  means a raised generation unit that allows for agricultural production to
				  continue on the land beneath the solar photovoltaic modules or wind turbine
				  structure that allows for agricultural production to continue around it, under
				  normally acceptable practices.
10.
				  "Farm, forest and open space land value subcommittee" means the Subcommittee of
				  the State Conservation Committee established under R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 2-4.3
				  to recommend to the R.I. Department of Administration to be transmitted to each
				  city or town tax assessor the methodology and values for the assessment of land
				  for property taxation on the basis of current use for farm, forest and open
				  space lands as established by R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 44-27 and R.I. Gen. Laws
				  §
											44-5-12.
11. "Farmer" means the principal person
				  engaged in agricultural operations as indicated for income tax
				  purposes.
12. "Farmland" means any
				  tract(s) of land, exclusive of house site, that meets any one of the following
				  conditions and which has a Farm Forest and Open Space conservation plan, either
				  applied for or in force within the past 10 years that is consistent with U.S.
				  Department of Agriculture standards.
a.
				  "Land" means actively devoted to "agricultural or horticultural use."
b. Land which constitutes a "farm unit" which
				  means land owned by the farmer, including woodland and wetlands, at least (5)
				  acres of which are actively devoted to agricultural and horticultural use and
				  which have produced an annual gross income from the sale of its farm products
				  of a least $2500.00 in one of the two preceding years.
c. Land that is actively devoted to
				  agricultural and horticultural use by a "subsistence farmer" who derives his or
				  her primary means of sustenance from the consumption of agricultural products
				  grown on their land. Non-farm related income must be low enough to make them
				  eligible for assistance under Title 20 Programs.
d. Land which meets the qualifications for
				  payments with the Federal Government for a conservation set aside, or it has a
				  combination of income, crop and acreage which in the Director's opinion
				  qualifies this land for inclusion as a farm.
13. "Forestland" means any tract or
				  contiguous tracts of land, ten (10) acres or larger, exclusive of house site,
				  bearing a dense growth of trees, including underbrush and young regenerating
				  forest and ancillary habitat areas having either the quality of
				  self-perpetuation, or being dependent upon its development by the planting and
				  replanting of trees in stands of closely growing timber, actively managed under
				  a stewardship plan approved by the Director.
14. "Forest stewardship plan" or "Management
				  plan" means a plan prepared by a professionally qualified forester, that
				  incorporates landowner objectives into an action based plan for the purpose of
				  enhancing forest resources, which may include cultural operations to improve,
				  where feasible and practical, wildlife habitat, forest health, forest quality,
				  watershed protection, soil stability, water quality protection, aesthetics, the
				  atmosphere, and passive non-commercial recreation. To qualify, the plan must
				  meet minimum criteria established in §
											1.14 of this Part.
				  Applicants should apply with the "Application for Designation of Farmland or
				  Forestland".
15. "Generation unit"
				  means a facility that converts a fuel or energy resource into electrical
				  energy.
16. "House site" means the
				  zoned lot size or one acre, whichever is smaller containing a house, and land
				  under and surrounding dwellings or devoted to developed facilities, such as
				  tennis courts, pools, etc., related to the use of the residence.
17. "Open space" or "Open space land" means
				  any tract or contiguous tracts of undeveloped land, where the undeveloped land
				  serves to enhance agricultural values, or land in its natural state that
				  conserves forests, enhances wildlife habitat or protects ecosystem health, and
				  that are:
a. Ten (10) total acres or larger,
				  exclusive of house site; or,
b.
				  Tracts of land of any size that are designated as open space land in the town's
				  comprehensive community plan; or,
c. Tracts of land of any size that have
				  conservation restrictions or easements in full force.
18. "Owner" means the person recorded as the
				  owner on the deed.
19. "Person"
				  means any individual, firm, corporation, co-operative, limited liability
				  company (LLC), natural person, trust, estate, non-business entity, partnership,
				  or other association or form of organization which can hold title to personal
				  or real property interests under Rhode Island law.
20. "Professionally qualified forester" means
				  a person who has graduated, with at least a bachelor's degree in forestry, from
				  a school recognized by the Society of American Foresters, or who possesses
				  equivalent qualifications approved by the Director.
21. "Under normally acceptable practices"
				  means management of the farm using cultivation and husbandry techniques
				  including but not limited to techniques for the proper animal and plant
				  densities and spacing, harvesting techniques, soil conditioning and
				  preservation techniques, erosion control practices, waste disposal techniques,
				  cover crops, and rotation cycles recommended by the University of Rhode Island,
				  U.S. Department of Agriculture, recognized producers organizations and seed and
				  implement manufacturers for Rhode Island soils and practices approved by the
				  DEM Agricultural Advisory Committee.