Implementation Phase Archive

• Primer on Blighted/Substandard Designation
  
  
• Primer on Tax Increment Financing (TIF)
  
  
• North Central Benson-Ames TIF Map (Download PDF)
  
  
• Benson Neighborhoods Map (Download PDF)
  

Primer on ‘Blighted and Substandard’ Designation
Source: Nebraska Dep’t of Economic Development (http://crd.neded.org/comm_resource/tif.htm)

Declaring a Redevelopment Area Blighted and Substandard

1. A local government requests a recommendation from the local planning commission or board, regarding whether a designated area should or should not be declared "substandard and blighted." An area is considered substandard if the buildings and improvements are detrimental to public health and safety; an area is blighted if at least one of the following conditions exists: "(i) Unemployment in the designated area is at least one hundred twenty percent of the state or national average; (ii) the average age of the residential or commercial units in the area is at least forty years; (iii) more than half of the plotted and subdivided property in an area is unimproved land that has been within the city for forty years and has remained unimproved during that time; (iv) the per capita income of the area is lower than the average per capita income of the city or village in which the area is designated; or (v) the area has had either stable or decreasing population based on the last two decennial censuses" (Revised Statutes of Nebraska, Sec. 18-2103). The planning commission has 30 days to respond. If the planning commission does not make a recommendation within that time, the local government may proceed without a recommendation.
   
   
2. After the wait for a planning commission recommendation, a local government must hold a public hearing before declaring an area "substandard and blighted." The government must provide public notice for two weeks before the hearing and ten days prior to the hearing mail a notice of the hearing "to all registered neighborhood associations whose area of representation is located in whole or in part within a one-mile radius of the area to be redeveloped and to the president or chairperson of the governing body of each county, school district, community college, educational service unit, and natural resources district in which the real property subject to such plan or major modification is located . . . " (Sec. 18-2115). Presumably, the public hearing could be scheduled to coincide with the end of the 30-day period the planning commission has to consider the "substandard and blighted" request.

In summary: Nebraska state law provides a comprehensive statutory definition of “blighted and substandard,” while the power to declare an area as such is delegated to local government (specifically the planning board with authority over the land in question).  The designation is intimately linked to the tax increment financing (TIF) process.  The TIF statutes empower authorities to use tax revenue increases to pay off any public debts accrued from redevelopment incentive packages.

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a) the boundaries of the redevelopment project area;

b) a land-use plan showing proposed uses in the area;

c) information showing projected changes in population density and buildings;

d) a site plan of the area;

e) a statement addressing the number and nature of new public services in the area.

2. After the plan is submitted and receives Planning Department backing, it undergoes the City of Omaha approval process.  This entails two steps: first, a reading and affirmative vote from the Planning Board, and then a similar procedure for the City Council.  Following the Planning Department’s backing and perhaps concurrent with the Planning Board reading and approval, the redevelopment agents should schedule a public information meeting for the affected area.  They must also work with Planning Department officials to draft statements addressing the cost of acquisition and preparation of the project area, an estimate of the revenue from its transfer to the developers, the method of financing the project, and the method of relocating any families displaces by the project(s).

3. The City Council may disburse TIF funds if the redevelopment agents fulfill the requirements mentioned above plus the following criteria:

a) the redevelopment project would not be feasible without the use of TIF financing;

b) the redevelopment project would not occur in the community redevelopment area without the use of TIF financing;

c) the costs and benefits of the redevelopment project have been analyzed by the governing body and found to be in the best interest of the impacted area.

Upon approval, TIF bonds are issued and used for acquisition, clearance, and public improvements.  The site is then transferred to the developer, who then constructs the project approved in the plan.  The property tax returns generated from the redeveloped site are applied to the TIF bonds until they are repaid, or for 15 years, after which the increased returns revert to local taxing jurisdictions.

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