Criteria have been established to identify possible areas to be designated for community reinvestment and to evaluate the nature and degree of the benefit to be gained by the City if tax abatement is made available under this Program. It is anticipated that this authority shall be used carefully by Council, and shall be restricted to those cases which shall provide a substantial benefit for a long term period.
As a consequence, the deliberations leading to a creation of a Community Reinvestment Area shall be thorough. Since each candidate area and each applicant shall have varying conditions unique to their particular circumstances, the following criteria are selected as a check list and in order to structure the deliberations. They are not intended to be used as a weighted scoring mechanism. It is conceivable that under certain circumstances a single strong adverse condition may constitute a sufficient reason not to so designate a certain area or to deny tax abatement to a certain applicant. On the other hand, only two or three strongly favorable circumstances may weigh heavily enough to properly merit the establishment of an area, or to grant abatement to an applicant.
In the following listings of criteria, groupings are solely in order to facilitate the collection and analysis of information by subject areas in an orderly fashion. Relative positions of individual items in the list neither connote priority consideration nor relative importance.
(a) Review Criteria for Establishing Community Reinvestment Areas Preconditions.
(1) Identification of a delineated area which requires stimulus for economic development.
(2) Provision of tax abatement as a precondition by a private company to locate or to expand within the area.
(3) Determination of the lowest negotiable number of years of abatement to conclude the inducement.
(4) Pre-arrangement among the applicant, the City and the State Department of Taxation of determination, for tax assessment purposes, of all major items, as being either real property or personal property, with the determination to obtain for the length of the abatement period.
(b) Pertaining to the New Undertaking.
(5) A substantial number of new jobs shall be created.
(6) Significant local expenditures in addition to payroll shall be made.
(7) The parent company is financially sound and reasonable.
(8) There is a forseeable long term demand for the product or the service.
(9) The applicant provides descriptive plans, building and equipment layouts, description of intended operations, products or services, and proposed equity investment.
(10) An estimate of the increase of business for existing local service industries and suppliers.
(11) An estimate of the requirement for establishment of new local service industries and suppliers.
(12) The value-added rating of the industrial classification of the applicant's product or service.
(13) Environmental effect on the surrounding community.
(14) Potential enhancement of the quality of life of the present inhabitants by favorable attributes of the new work force.
(15) Accommodation by the master plan and zoning ordinances.
(16) Accommodation by local utilities and transportation.
(17) Accommodation by local schools, other functions of local government, and various community services.
(18) Impact on the present housing supply, potential housing areas that could be developed, and the housing industry.
(19) Nature and extent of the impact on the present labor force.
(20) Character and quality of the proposed operation as it relates to community ethics and standards, compatibility with community objectives and contribution to community developmental goals.
(c) Pertaining to the Good of the City, State or Nation.
(21) The possible value of a company or smaller size which of itself, or of its output, makes a contribution on a regional or national scale of recognized industrial, economic, educational, cultural, scientific, strategic or other importance.
(22) Any undertaking, such as a research establishment, academic institution, corporate headquarters or the like, whose operation will bring a material talent bank, and favorable identification and recognition to the City.
(23) Determination if offsetting State or federal financial assistance may be provided for the project.
(d) Pertaining to the Taxation Balance of Payments.
(24) Detailed preparation and analysis of the following three property tax scenarios for each reinvestment program under consideration:
A. Without the proposed improvement;
B. With the improvement, without abatement;
C. With the improvement, with abatement.
(Ord. 1059. Passed 5-20-86.)