R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-5-76 — East Greenwich — Reduction in assessed value of real estate upon removal of damaged structure

(a) Whenever a structure in the town of East Greenwich is damaged so as to require total
reconstruction and following which, the owner provides for complete demolition of
the structure with the material from the demolition being removed from the parcel
of real property on which the structure was situated or used as fill on the parcel
for purposes of grading, the parcel shall be assessed for purposes of property tax
as of the date the demolition, removal, and grading are completed to the satisfaction
of the building official, and the assessment shall reflect a determination of the
assessed value of the parcel, exclusive of the assessed value of the structure so
damaged, demolished, and removed.
(b) The adjusted assessment is applicable with respect to the parcel from the date demolition,
removal, and grading are completed, as determined by the building official, until
the thirty-first (31st) day of December next succeeding and the assessment of the
parcel for the assessment year in which demolition, removal, and grading are completed
shall be adjusted accordingly by the assessor. Any excess tax resulting from the adjusted
assessment shall be abated by the town council.
(c) This section is not applicable in the event of disasters such as, but not limited
to, erosion or demolition resulting from floods or hurricanes. In addition, the East
Greenwich town council is authorized to suspend this tax abatement policy for any
year in which so many structures within the town of East Greenwich are damaged that
granting reduced assessments would, in the sole judgment of the town council, jeopardize
the fiscal integrity of the town of East Greenwich.
(d) This section applies only to assessments and taxes in the town of East Greenwich.