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Housing and Economic Development <br />• Clarify contamination standards; <br />• Develop different standards for redevelopment to include obsolete structures or <br />to reflect the deterioration conditions that currently exist in the metro area; <br />• Allow for the assembly of multiple parcels for redevelopment projects; <br />• Modify the public purpose definition under Chapter 117 to allow cities to more <br />expediently address properties that are vacant or abandoned in areas with high <br />levels of foreclosures, so as to address neighborhood stabilization and recovery; <br />• Provide for the ability to acquire land from "holdouts" who will now view a <br />publicly funded project as an opportunity for personal gain at taxpayer expense; <br />i.e. allow for negotiation using balanced appraisals for fair relocation costs; <br />• Examine attorney fees and limit fees for attorneys representing a property <br />owner; and <br />• Allow for relocation costs not to be paid if the city and property owner agree to a <br />sale contract. <br />3-M Community Reinvestment <br />Communities across the metropolitan region have aging residential and commercial <br />structures that are in need of repair and reinvestment. Reinvestment prevents <br />neighborhoods from falling into disrepair, revitalizes communities and protects a city's <br />tax base. <br />Metro Cities supports state programs and incentives for reinvestment in older <br />residential and commercial/industrial buildings, such as, but not limited to, tax <br />credits and/or property tax deferrals. <br />Historically, the state has funded programs to promote reinvestment in communities, <br />including the "This Old House" program, that allowed owners of older homestead <br />property to defer an increase in their tax capacity resulting from repairs or improvements <br />to the home and "This Old Shop" for owners of older commercial/industrial property that <br />make improvements that increase the property's market value. <br />3-N Business Incentives Policy <br />Without a thorough study, the Legislature should not make any substantive changes to the <br />Business Subsidy Act, as defined in Statute 116J.993, but should look to technical <br />changes that would streamline both state and local processes and procedures. The <br />Legislature should distinguish between development incentives and redevelopment <br />2016 Legislative Policies 33 <br />