Staff writer Gainesville Sun
Looking to spur economic development and urban renewal almost eight years after the adoption of Plan East Gainesville, county officials are contemplating the establishment of a community redevelopment area for a swath of unincorporated land east of the city limits.
If eventually approved by county commissioners, it would be the first CRA in unincorporated Alachua County.
The current boundaries of the proposed CRA study area are directly east of Gainesville and the city's Eastside CRA. Generally, the area under consideration stretches from the city limits east to Southeast 51st Street. Its northern border is University Avenue, and the southern edge is Hawthorne Road.
State law allows a local government to establish a CRA for a geographic area that local officials determine to meet the state's definition of "blight." Some criteria include high poverty rates and low or stagnant property values. In a CRA, a local government invests money in infrastructure improvements, aesthetic upgrades and sometimes provides incentives to developers through a mechanism known as tax increment financing.
Under a TIF, property values within the CRA boundaries would be set at the year the district is established. After that, tax revenues from increases in property values would go back into the CRA boundaries to fund various projects instead of into the local government's general fund. A CRA typically has a lifetime of 20 to 30 years.
Ken Zeichner, principal planner with the Alachua County Growth Management, said the end goal is to "create a good climate to encourage private investment."
On Thursday, county staff held the first informational meeting on the proposed CRA. A small group of residents gathered at Eastside High School, which is within the study area's boundaries, and identified some upgrades they would like to see in the area. Those included central water and sewer, sidewalk and bike path construction and a farmers' market, said Michael Castine, the county planner overseeing the CRA process.
Currently, there are four CRA districts in the city of Gainesville and one each in Hawthorne and High Springs. Gainesville's Eastside CRA, which is directly west of the area under consideration by the county, was established in 2001 and expanded in 2006. In recent years, projects there have included a $316,000 landscaping and streetscaping project in the triangular area bounded by East University Avenue, Southeast 15th Street and Southeast Hawthorne Road. A restaurant specializing in classic Southern dishes is expected to open along the 1700 block of Hawthorne Road in a building in which the CRA invested $330,734 to remodel. Area businesses are also eligible to receive grants for facade improvements.
With the budget crunch facing governments, there was some focus in budget deliberations on the effect the various community redevelopment areas have on the county's general fund. According to county numbers, more than $3.9 million in tax revenues that otherwise would go into the county's general fund went into Gainesville's four CRA areas. The counter-argument is that revenue would not be generated if not for the redevelopment efforts within the CRA.
Tax revenues for the school district, the water management district and the municipal services taxing units funding the Sheriff's Office, the fire department and general services in the unincorporated county would not be affected by tax increment financing should the county form a CRA, Castine said.
If you go
What: Community workshop on possible community redevelopment area in unincorporated east Gainesville
When: 5:30 pm February 17
Where: Compassionate Outreach Ministries, 320 S.E. 43rd St.
No comments:
Post a Comment