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Housing & Economic Development <br />The proper operation and long term economic vitality of our cities is dependent on the ability of <br />a city, its citizens and its businesses to continually reinvest and reinvent. Reinvestment and <br />reinvention strategies can occasionally conflict with the priorities of individual residents or <br />business owners. Eminent domain is a critical tool in the reinvestment and reinvention process <br />and without it our cities may deteriorate to unprecedented levels before the public reacts. <br />Metro Cities strongly encourages the Governor and Legislature to revisit eminent domain <br />laws to allow local governments to address redevelopment problems before those <br />conditions become financially impossible to address. Specifically, Metro Cities supports: <br />• Clarifying contamination standards; <br />• Developing different standards for redevelopment to include obsolete structures or to <br />reflect the deterioration conditions that currently exist in the metro area; <br />• Allowing for the assembly of multiple parcels for redevelopment projects; <br />• Modifying 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 levels of <br />foreclosures, to address neighborhood stabilization and recovery; <br />• Providing for the ability to acquire land from "holdouts" who will now view a publicly <br />funded project as an opportunity for personal gain at taxpayer expense; i.e. allow for <br />negotiation using balanced appraisals for fair relocation costs; <br />• Examining attorney fees and limit fees for attorneys representing a property owner; <br />• Allowing for relocation costs not to be paid if the city and property owner agree to a <br />sale contract; <br />• A property owner's appraisal to be shared with the city prior to a sale agreement; and <br />• Appropriately balanced awards of attorney fees and costs of litigation with the <br />outcome of the eminent domain proceeding. <br />3-N Community Reinvestment <br />Communities across the metropolitan region have aging residential and commercial structures <br />that need repair and reinvestment. Reinvestment prevents neighborhoods from falling into <br />disrepair, revitalizes communities and protects a city's tax base. <br />Metro Cities supports state programs and incentives for reinvestment in older residential <br />and commercial/industrial buildings, such as, but not limited to, tax credits and/or <br />property tax deferrals. <br />2018 Legislative Policies <br />32 <br />