For purposes of this section and sections 8-169ii to 8-169ss, inclusive:

(1) “Authority” means the Connecticut Municipal Redevelopment Authority established in § 8-169ii;

(2) “Authority development project” means a project occurring within the boundaries of a Connecticut Municipal Redevelopment Authority development district;

(3) “Connecticut Municipal Redevelopment Authority development district” or “development district” means the area determined by a memorandum of agreement between the authority and the chief executive officer of the member municipality, or the chief executive officers of the municipalities constituting a joint member entity, as applicable, where such development district is located, provided such area shall be considered a downtown or does not exceed a one-half-mile radius of a transit station;

(4) “Designated tier III municipality” has the same meaning as provided in § 7-560;

(5) “Designated tier IV municipality” has the same meaning as provided in § 7-560;

(6) “Downtown” means a central business district or other commercial neighborhood area of a community that serves as a center of socioeconomic interaction in the community, characterized by a cohesive core of commercial and mixed-use buildings, often interspersed with civic, religious and residential buildings and public spaces, that are typically arranged along a main street and intersecting side streets and served by public infrastructure;

(7) “Member municipality” means (A) any municipality with a population of seventy thousand or more that opts to join the Connecticut Municipal Redevelopment Authority in accordance with § 8-169ll, or (B) any designated tier III or tier IV municipality. “Member municipality” does not include the city of Hartford or any municipality that is considered part of the capital region, as defined in § 32-600;

(8) “Joint member entity” means two or more municipalities with a combined population of seventy thousand or more that together opt to join the Connecticut Municipal Redevelopment Authority in accordance with § 8-169ll, provided no such municipality is considered part of the capital region, as defined in § 32-600;

(9) “Project” means any or all of the following: (A) The design and construction of transit-oriented development, as defined in § 13b-79kk; (B) the creation of housing units through rehabilitation or new construction; (C) the demolition or redevelopment of vacant buildings; and (D) development and redevelopment;

(10) State-wide transportation investment program” means the planning document developed and updated at least every four years by the Department of Transportation in compliance with the requirements of 23 USC 135, listing all transportation projects in the state expected to receive federal funding during the four-year period covered by the program; and

(11) “Transit station” means any passenger railroad station or bus rapid transit station that is operational, or for which the Department of Transportation has initiated planning or that is included in the state-wide transportation investment program, that is or will be located within the boundaries of a member municipality or the municipalities constituting a joint member entity.