House Bill hb1341

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HB 1341

        By Representative Dockery






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to community redevelopment;

  3         amending s. 163.340, F.S.; revising

  4         definitions; amending s. 163.355, F.S.;

  5         providing additional criteria for a finding of

  6         necessity for community redevelopment; amending

  7         s. 163.361, F.S.; requiring the appropriate

  8         governing body to hold public hearings on

  9         modifications of community redevelopment plans;

10         amending s. 163.362, F.S.; revising provisions

11         relating to modifications of contents of

12         community redevelopment plans; amending s.

13         163.385, F.S.; revising provisions relating to

14         issuance and maturation of refunding bonds;

15         amending s. 163.387, F.S.; specifying the time

16         period for appropriations to the redevelopment

17         trust fund; providing for applicability;

18         providing an effective date.

19

20  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

21

22         Section 1.  Subsections (3), (7), and (8) of section

23  163.340, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

24         163.340  Definitions.--The following terms, wherever

25  used or referred to in this part, have the following meanings:

26         (3)  "Governing body" means the council, commission, or

27  other legislative body charged with governing the county or

28  municipality.

29         (7)  "Slum area" means an area with physical or

30  economic conditions conducive to disease, infant mortality,

31  juvenile delinquency, poverty, or crime because in which there

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  1  is a predominance of buildings or improvements, whether

  2  residential or nonresidential, that are impaired which by

  3  reason of dilapidation, deterioration, age, or obsolescence,

  4  and which area exhibits one or more of the following factors:;

  5         (a)  Inadequate provision for ventilation, light, air,

  6  sanitation, or open spaces;

  7         (b)  High density of population, compared to the

  8  population density of adjacent areas within the county or

  9  municipality, and overcrowding, as indicated by

10  government-maintained statistics and the requirements of the

11  Florida Building Code; or

12         (c)  The existence of conditions which endanger life or

13  property by fire or other causes; or any combination of such

14  factors is conducive to ill health, transmission of disease,

15  infant mortality, juvenile delinquency, or crime and is

16  detrimental to the public health, safety, morals, or welfare.

17         (8)  "Blighted area" means either:

18         (a)  an area in which there are a substantial number of

19  slum, deteriorated, or deteriorating structures, in which and

20  conditions as indicated by government-maintained statistics

21  are leading that lead to economic distress or endanger life or

22  property, and in which two or more of the following factors

23  are present by fire or other causes or one or more of the

24  following factors that substantially impairs or arrests the

25  sound growth of a county or municipality and is a menace to

26  the public health, safety, morals, or welfare in its present

27  condition and use:

28         (a)1.  Predominance of defective or inadequate street

29  layout, parking facilities, roadways, bridges, or public

30  transportation facilities;

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  1         (b)2.  An unemployment rate, over a 5-year period, that

  2  is higher than and rising faster than the unemployment rate of

  3  the county or municipality in which the proposed redevelopment

  4  area is situated;

  5         (c)  A tax base that has failed to show any appreciable

  6  increase over the last 5 years;

  7         (d)  Faulty lot layout in relation to size, adequacy,

  8  accessibility, or usefulness;

  9         (e)  An increase in the number of tax-exempt

10  properties;

11         (f)3.  Unsanitary or unsafe conditions;

12         (g)4.  Deterioration of site or other improvements;

13         (h)5.  Inadequate and outdated building density

14  patterns;

15         (i)  Falling lease rates per square foot of office,

16  commercial, or industrial space;

17         (j)6.  Tax or special assessment delinquency exceeding

18  the fair value of the land;

19         (k)7.  High residential and commercial vacancy rates

20  compared to the remainder of the county or municipality

21  Inadequate transportation and parking facilities; and

22         (l)8.  A high incidence of crime compared to the

23  remainder of the county or municipality;

24         (m)  A large number of fire and emergency medical

25  service calls to the area compared to the remainder of the

26  county or municipality;

27         (n)  A large number of violations of the Florida

28  Building Code in the area compared to the number of violations

29  recorded in other areas of the county or municipality; or

30

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  1         (o)  Diversity of ownership or defective or unusual

  2  conditions of title which prevent the free alienability of

  3  land within the deteriorated or hazardous area.; or

  4         (b)  An area in which there exists faulty or inadequate

  5  street layout; inadequate parking facilities; or roadways,

  6  bridges, or public transportation facilities incapable of

  7  handling the volume of traffic flow into or through the area,

  8  either at present or following proposed construction.

  9

10  The terms "slum" or "blighted area," as amended by this act,

11  do not apply to any community redevelopment agency created

12  prior to October 1, 2002, except where such agency modifies

13  its community redevelopment area or plan. However, For

14  purposes of qualifying for the tax credits authorized in

15  chapter 220, "blighted area" means an area as defined in this

16  subsection described in paragraph (a).

17         Section 2.  Section 163.355, Florida Statutes, is

18  amended to read:

19         163.355  Finding of necessity by county or

20  municipality.--No county or municipality shall exercise the

21  community redevelopment authority conferred by this part until

22  after the appropriate governing body has first adopted a

23  resolution, supported by a detailed justification, that finds

24  that the conditions in the area meet the criteria described in

25  s. 163.340(7) or (8). The resolution shall state finding that:

26         (1)  One or more slum or blighted areas, or one or more

27  areas in which there is a shortage of housing affordable to

28  residents of low or moderate income, including the elderly,

29  exist in such county or municipality; and,

30         (2)  The rehabilitation, conservation, or

31  redevelopment, or a combination thereof, of such area or

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  1  areas, including, if appropriate, the development of housing

  2  which residents of low or moderate income, including the

  3  elderly, can afford, is necessary in the interest of the

  4  public health, safety, morals, or welfare of the residents of

  5  such county or municipality.

  6

  7  This section, as amended by this act, does not apply to a

  8  community redevelopment agency created prior to October 1,

  9  2002, except where such agency modifies its community

10  redevelopment area or plan.

11         Section 3.  Subsections (1) and (2) of section 163.361,

12  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

13         163.361  Modification of community redevelopment

14  plans.--

15         (1)  If at any time after the approval of a community

16  redevelopment plan by the appropriate governing body it

17  becomes necessary or desirable to amend or modify such plan,

18  the governing body may amend such plan upon the recommendation

19  of the agency. The agency recommendation to amend or modify a

20  redevelopment plan may include a change in the boundaries of

21  the redevelopment area to add land to or exclude land from the

22  redevelopment area, or may include the development and

23  implementation of community policing innovations.

24         (2)  The appropriate governing body shall hold a public

25  hearing on any a proposed modification of a community

26  redevelopment plan after public notice thereof by publication

27  in a newspaper having a general circulation in the area of

28  operation of the agency.

29         Section 4.  Subsection (10) of section 163.362, Florida

30  Statutes, is amended to read:

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  1         163.362  Contents of community redevelopment

  2  plan.--Every community redevelopment plan shall:

  3         (10)  Provide a time certain for completing all

  4  redevelopment financed by increment revenues. Such time

  5  certain shall occur no later than 30 years after the fiscal

  6  year in which the plan is initially approved or, adopted, or

  7  amended pursuant to s. 163.361(1). For plans amended or

  8  modified pursuant to s. 163.361 for any community

  9  redevelopment agency created prior to October 1, 2002, such

10  time certain shall occur no later than 30 years after the

11  fiscal year in which the plan was amended or modified. In any

12  event, no community redevelopment agency existing before

13  October 1, 2002, shall have a time certain by which to

14  complete all redevelopment financed by increment revenues

15  beyond October 1, 2032.

16         Section 5.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section

17  163.385, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

18         163.385  Issuance of revenue bonds.--

19         (1)(a)  When authorized or approved by resolution or

20  ordinance of the governing body, a county, municipality, or

21  community redevelopment agency has power in its corporate

22  capacity, in its discretion, to issue redevelopment revenue

23  bonds from time to time to finance the undertaking of any

24  community redevelopment under this part, including, without

25  limiting the generality thereof, the payment of principal and

26  interest upon any advances for surveys and plans or

27  preliminary loans, and has power to issue refunding bonds for

28  the payment or retirement of bonds or other obligations

29  previously issued. Any redevelopment revenue bonds or other

30  obligations issued to finance the undertaking of any community

31  redevelopment under this part shall mature within 30 60 years

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  1  after the end of the fiscal year in which the initial

  2  community redevelopment plan was approved or adopted. However,

  3  in no event shall any redevelopment revenue bonds or other

  4  obligations issued to finance the undertaking of any community

  5  redevelopment under this part mature later than the expiration

  6  of the plan in effect at the time such bonds or obligations

  7  were issued. The security for such bonds may be based upon the

  8  anticipated assessed valuation of the completed community

  9  redevelopment and such other revenues as are legally

10  available. Any bond, note, or other form of indebtedness

11  pledging increment revenues to the repayment thereof shall

12  mature no later than the end of the 30th fiscal year after the

13  end of the fiscal year in which the initial community

14  redevelopment plan was approved or adopted increment revenues

15  are first deposited into the redevelopment trust fund or the

16  fiscal year in which the plan is subsequently amended.

17  However, any refunding bonds issued pursuant to this paragraph

18  may not mature later than the final maturity date of any bonds

19  or other obligations issued pursuant to this paragraph being

20  paid or retired with the proceeds of such refunding bonds.

21         Section 6.  Subsection (1) and paragraphs (a) and (c)

22  of subsection (2) of section 163.387, Florida Statutes, are

23  amended to read:

24         163.387  Redevelopment trust fund.--

25         (1)  After approval of a community redevelopment plan,

26  there shall be established for each community redevelopment

27  agency created under s. 163.356 a redevelopment trust fund.

28  Funds allocated to and deposited into this fund shall be used

29  by the agency to finance or refinance any community

30  redevelopment it undertakes pursuant to the approved community

31  redevelopment plan. No community redevelopment agency may

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  1  receive or spend any increment revenues pursuant to this

  2  section unless and until the governing body has, by ordinance,

  3  provided for the funding of the redevelopment trust fund for

  4  the duration of a community redevelopment plan. Such ordinance

  5  may be adopted only after the appropriate governing body has

  6  approved a community redevelopment plan. The annual funding of

  7  the redevelopment trust fund shall be in an amount not less

  8  than that increment in the income, proceeds, revenues, and

  9  funds of each taxing authority derived from or held in

10  connection with the undertaking and carrying out of community

11  redevelopment under this part. Such increment shall be

12  determined annually and shall be that amount equal to 95

13  percent of the difference between:

14         (a)  The amount of ad valorem taxes levied each year by

15  each taxing authority, exclusive of any amount from any debt

16  service millage, on taxable real property contained within the

17  geographic boundaries of a community redevelopment area; and

18         (b)  The amount of ad valorem taxes which would have

19  been produced by the rate upon which the tax is levied each

20  year by or for each taxing authority, exclusive of any debt

21  service millage, upon the total of the assessed value of the

22  taxable real property in the community redevelopment area as

23  shown upon the most recent assessment roll used in connection

24  with the taxation of such property by each taxing authority

25  prior to the effective date of the ordinance providing for the

26  funding of the trust fund.

27

28  However, the governing body of any county as defined in s.

29  125.011(1) may, in the ordinance providing for the funding of

30  a trust fund established with respect to any community

31  redevelopment area created on or after July 1, 1994, determine

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  1  that the amount to be funded by each taxing authority annually

  2  shall be less than 95 percent of the difference between

  3  paragraphs (a) and (b), but in no event shall such amount be

  4  less than 50 percent of such difference.

  5         (2)(a)  Except for the purpose of funding the trust

  6  fund pursuant to subsection (3), upon the adoption of an

  7  ordinance providing for funding of the redevelopment trust

  8  fund as provided in this section, each taxing authority shall,

  9  by January 1 of each year, appropriate to the trust fund for

10  so long as any indebtedness pledging increment revenues to the

11  payment thereof is outstanding (but not to exceed 30 years

12  after the date of approval or adoption of the initial plan) a

13  sum that is no less than the increment as defined and

14  determined in subsection (1) accruing to such taxing

15  authority. If the community redevelopment plan is amended or

16  modified pursuant to s. 163.361(1), each such taxing authority

17  shall make the annual appropriation for a period not to exceed

18  30 years after the date of approval or adoption of the initial

19  the governing body amends the plan.

20         (c)  The following public bodies or taxing authorities

21  created prior to July 1, 1993, are exempt from paragraph (a):

22         1.  A special district that levies ad valorem taxes on

23  taxable real property in more than one county.

24         2.  A special district the sole available source of

25  revenue of which is ad valorem taxes at the time an ordinance

26  is adopted under this section.

27         3.  A library district, except a library district in a

28  jurisdiction where the community redevelopment agency had

29  validated bonds as of April 30, 1984.

30         4.  A neighborhood improvement district created under

31  the Safe Neighborhoods Act.

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  1         5.  A metropolitan transportation authority.

  2         6.  A water management district created under s.

  3  373.069.

  4         7.  Any other special district that exists for the

  5  improvement of the public health, safety, and welfare.

  6         Section 7.  Amendments to part III of chapter 163,

  7  Florida Statutes, as provided by this act, do not apply to any

  8  ordinance or resolution authorizing the issuance of any bond,

  9  note, or other form of indebtedness to which are pledged

10  increment revenues pursuant to a community redevelopment plan,

11  or amendment or modification thereto, as approved or adopted

12  before October 1, 2002.

13         Section 8.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2002.

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15            *****************************************

16                          HOUSE SUMMARY

17
      Revises provisions relating to community redevelopment.
18    Provides additional criteria for a finding of necessity
      for community redevelopment. Requires the appropriate
19    governing body to hold public hearings on modifications
      of community redevelopment plans. Revises provisions
20    relating to modifications of contents of community
      redevelopment plans. Revises provisions relating to
21    issuance and maturation of refunding bonds. Specifies the
      time period for appropriations to the redevelopment trust
22    fund. Provides for applicability.

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