CRA Fact Sheet

Community Redevelopment in Manatee County

Under Florida law (Chapter 163, Part III), local governments are able to designate specific geographic areas as Community Redevelopment Areas (CRA’s) when certain conditions exist.

Examples of conditions that must be present to support the creation of a Community Redevelopment Area include, but are not limited to:

• the presence of deteriorated structures
• faulty lot layout
• inadequate infrastructure
• insufficient roadways
• inadequate parking
• relatively high crime rates

To document that the required conditions exist, the local government must survey the proposed redevelopment area and prepare a Finding of Necessity.

Findings of Necessity studies in Manatee County determined that the required conditions did exist in two distinct areas, and in 2002 the Board of County Commissioners designated two Community Redevelopment Areas— the 14th Street West CRA, which encompasses the area around 14 th Street West (US 41 Tamiami Trail) from Cortez Road to the Bradenton City limits, and the South County CRA, which encompasses a larger area to the South, between 14th Street West and 15th Street East, from 53d Avenue East (Oneco Road) south to 65th Avenue East.

Redevelopment Trust Funds were then established for each CRA district, and Community
Redevelopment Plans were prepared in order to provide the funding and the direction needed to foster new investment in housing, the commercial sector, and in roadways and street design. The establishment of the 14th Street West and South County CRA’s demonstrates to the residents of the districts and to prospective investors that Manatee County government is serious about redevelopment, and has made a very long-term (40-year) commitment to bringing redevelopment and vitality to the central county neighborhoods and the historic roadway that runs through them, known throughout the state as the Tamiami Trail. Examples of redevelopment activities include:

• Encouraging a positive sense of community identity through strong neighborhood and business organizations, community based newsletters and events,
• Focusing public resources on the area to improve the physical environment (buildings, streets, sidewalks, utilities, parks),
• Providing financial incentives and flexibility for private sector partners contributing to the redevelopment process.

The Community Redevelopment Agency

The activities supported by local government within a CRA are administered by a Community Redevelopment Agency. A five to seven member CRA Board created by the local government directs the agency. In Manatee County, the members of the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) serve as the Community Redevelopment Agency.

CRA Citizen Advisory Board

Zoom

The CRA Board Members are assisted in their task by citizen advisory boards for each of the CRA districts. The role of the Manatee County CRA Advisory Boards, who are appointed by the CRA, is to:

• Receive input from members of the public interested in redevelopment projects in the CRA, develop annual work programs, and, periodically review the Redevelopment Plan, and recommend to the Community Redevelopment Agency any changes to the long-term plan.

Tax Increment Financing

The principal source of funding for redevelopment agencies is Tax Increment Financing (TIF). TIF is a funding mechanism that dedicates tax revenues that result from improved property values within the CRA districts. This creates an incentive to work toward area improvements and allows a portion of tax revenues to be maintained for use within the CRA where the tax was paid.

Any increase in total taxable property taxes collected between the base year (which was 2002 for both of Manatee County’s CRA districts) and each following year is called "the increment." Florida Statutes permit 95% of the increment in CRA districts to be deposited in special Redevelopment Trust Funds for use solely within that district. The key to continued growth of Redevelopment Trust Funds is attracting private market investment for new and improved housing and commercial buildings, and the additional ad valorem tax revenue this produces. It is important to note that TIF is not a tax, but a way to use a portion of the CRA generated property tax for local improvements that would otherwise be payable and used throughout the county.

To make the most effective use of Tax Increment Financing, the CRA can arrange for advances and loans of the available tax increment funds, seek out other County, State and Federal funding sources to use as matching funds for projects, and offer other incentives as appropriate and available to carry out the provisions of the plan.
 

Redevelopment Trust Funds

Zoom

According to Florida Statutes, funds in the Redevelopment Trust Fund can be expended for specific redevelopment purposes in the CRA districts, including the following purposes:

• Administrative and overhead expenses;
• Redevelopment planning, surveys, and financial analysis;
• Acquisition and disposal of property;
• Prepare land for redevelopment, including clearance, relocation of owners and occupants, and the site preparation of redevelopment area property;
• Public utilities;
• Development of affordable housing;
• Development of community policing innovations, including environmental design for crime prevention;
• All expenses connected with incurring or repaying agency bonds or notes, or other forms
• of indebtedness, including payment of principal and interest on CRA loans;
• Appropriated to a specific redevelopment project which will be completed within 3 years
• from the date of such appropriation; or
• Deposited into an escrow account for the purpose of later reducing any indebtedness to which increment revenues are pledged.

Examples of TIF expenditures within Manatee County’s two CRAs include sidewalk construction, streetlight installation, median landscaping, street tree planting, new park facilities construction, recreational activities, installation of street security cameras, enhanced law enforcement patrols, spring and fall community festivals, grants for commercial enhancement, property acquisition, and more.