Agenda - Council - 01/24/2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Housing & Economic Development • Metro Cities encourages the State Auditor to continue to work toward a more efficient and streamlined reporting process. There are an increasing number of noncompliance notices that have overturned longstanding practices or limited statutorily defined terms. The Legislature has not granted TIF rulemaking authority to the State Auditor and the audit powers granted by statute are not an appropriate vehicle for making administrative or legislative changes to TIF statutes. If the State Auditor is to exercise rulemaking authority, the administrative power to do so must be granted explicitly by the Legislature. The audit enforcement process does not create a level playing field for cities to challenge the Auditor's interpretation of statutes. The Legislature should provide a process through which to resolve disputes over TIF policy that is fair to all parties; • Clarifying use of TIF when a sale occurs after the closing of a district; • Revise substandard building test to simplify, resolve ambiguities and reduce continued threat of litigation; and • Amend TIF statute to address, through extending districts or other mechanisms, shortfalls related to declining market values during economic crises. 3-L Eminent Domain Significant statutory restrictions around the use of eminent domain enacted by the MN Legislature in 2006 have resulted in higher public costs for traditional public use projects like streets, parks, and sewers, and have all but restricted the use of eminent domain for redevelopment to cases of extreme blight or contamination. The proper operation and long term economic vitality of our cities is dependent on the ability of a city, its citizens and its businesses to continually reinvest and reinvent. Reinvestment and reinvention strategies can occasionally conflict with the priorities of individual residents or business owners. Eminent domain is a critical tool in the reinvestment and reinvention process and without it our cities may deteriorate to unprecedented levels before the public reacts. Metro Cities strongly encourages the Governor and Legislature to revisit the 2006 eminent domain changes to allow local governments to address redevelopment problems before those conditions become financially impossible to address. Specifically, the Legislature should: • Clarify contamination standards; • Develop different standards for redevelopment to include obsolete structures or to reflect the deterioration conditions that currently exist in the metro area; • Allow for the assembly of multiple parcels for redevelopment projects; 2017 Legislative Policies 33