pf_03405 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

determination that the property is structurally substandard without an interior inspection of the property. The city's blight determination findings are being challenged in court by the home- owners surrounding the car dealership, who had their property declared blighted and structurally substandard by the city without their receiving interior inspections. One could also wonder whether a car dealership is genuinely a blighted and deteriorating influence. 5dh Street and France - Edina and Minneapolis. The 50th and France Avenue area is unique. On the south side of 50th is the city of Edina, and on the north side is the city of Minneapolis. The area has a lot of high-end specialty retail and restaurants. The Edina side of the area was being renovated and revitalized to halt the deterioration of the buildings. The Minneapolis side was having difficulty attracting private renovation and revitalization. The city decided to create a renewal and renovation tax increment district in an effort to help renovate its side of the street. The purpose of a renewal and renovation district is similar to that of a redevelopment district except that the focus is more closely related to inappropriate or obsolete land use, and there are less stringent standards regarding structurally substandard buildings in the district. Renewal and renovation districts are rather rare. In an f~ffort to create a unified area, the city of Minneapolis had no choice but to spur renovation. Was this a legitimate use of TIF? A compelling case could be made both for and against the use of TIF here. There have been other perceived and actual misuses of TIF by many cities in Minnesota. The state legislature has enacted several new laws that focus on these isolated instances of misuse, rather than on tax increment financing as a whole. Isolated abuses of tax increment financing have injured everyone. What Should Be Done With T1F Now? Legislative activism has altered tax increment financing so that it can be used for a wide range of development activities that extend beyond the original intent of removal of blight and renovating deteriorating areas in central, core cities. State legislation has actually reduced the 23