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' I~n~ers'. l~eroeptions that certain locations, such as ':inner city'S, should not be treated the same in terms of size of loan, term of loan, or interest rate, as properties elsewhere in an urban region, irrespective of the financial viability of a given project. '1 i I I I difficulty of buildirg rental housirg that is cc~oetitive with owner-occ~ied housing because of gove~-~..~nt folicies which favor * The difficulty in assenblirg built-~ lar~ for redevelopment because ownership is more likely to be divided amorg many different owners than is likely o~ ~acant land. * The ready availability of an i~m~nse amount of open lar~ on the fringe of the urban area, which makes ~uilt-up land less cc~oetitive. ~b illustrate: Approximately 265 square miles of urbanization were added to the Twin Cities metropolitan area from 1960 to 1980. ~hat requi~d exi~r~irg the region'.s perimeter by only two miles, which is the equivalent of about adding only c~e city block a year to tl~ urban fringe. Elected officials should be held res~or~ible--The primary decision-makers should be the officials who represent the persons bearing the oosts ar~ sharing the benefits. Iffected public officials should be directly accountable to the voters for deciding wl~tt~r to deny or appro~ assistance. It now is possible for these officials to provide help without havirg to ~te to levy taxes or appropropriate dollars from their general fund budgets. Moreover, s~ne finar~ial mechanisms now available place decisiorm in the ~ of public offici_~l~ wlp do not have to star~ for election before the voters who are bearing the burden of those decisions. For example, a city council _r~n ~ote to issue an industrial revenue ~or~, with the cost, in reduced revenues to the federal treasury, shared by all taxpayers in the nation. Or a city council can enact tax-increment financing, urger which state, county ar~ school taxpayers share more than c~=-ba]f the cost. ~%wareness of other ne~iations--City goverrments should keep each other and the region infozTned about firms or de~eLopers with ~ they currently are nec3otiatir~. This may help keep cities from getting into undesired bidding wars with each other ar~ reduce unproductive oump~tition. A fire or de%~lcper, seeking the best financial arrargement, may be negotiatirg with more than one city for the same develci~ent. Of course, the existing syst~m~ for providing financial assistance offer little incentive fDr cities to cooperate in this f~shion. (km~istent with ~lar~--~ project should be cor~istent with previously-adcpted city ar~ ereawide ~ use plans. Indeed, public assistanoe logically should be used only to advance public goals. Dollars known in advance--~he total ~blic dollars being invested in a private real estate devel~Dme_ _nt, both direct ar~ indirect, including the value of tax deductions and credits, should be estimated in advance for each project assisted. The approval process by other levels of government may make it difficult to know the ultimate size of a financial package at the time the initial co~nitment is made by the city