Florida Senate - 2009 SB 292
By Senator Bullard
39-00236-09 2009292__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the statewide legacy communities
3 initiative; providing findings, intent, and
4 definitions; establishing the statewide legacy
5 communities initiative; providing criteria and
6 declarations concerning the initiative; providing
7 criteria governing the services and activities to be
8 supported under the initiative; providing requirements
9 and goals concerning the provision of such services or
10 assistance; creating the Urban Empowerment Corporation
11 within the Department of Community Affairs; providing
12 criteria concerning the creation, purpose, and duties
13 of the corporation; providing that the corporation is
14 an instrumentality of the state for purposes of
15 sovereign immunity; providing that the corporation is
16 not a state agency; providing that the corporation is
17 subject to specified laws concerning open records and
18 meetings requirements; exempting the corporation from
19 a specified law concerning procurement; providing that
20 the corporation is subject to specified laws
21 concerning ethical requirements; prohibiting the
22 corporation from creating subsidiaries; providing that
23 the corporation does not supplant, replace, or direct
24 existing operations or other programs; providing for
25 the department to approve the corporation's articles
26 of incorporation; providing criteria concerning such
27 articles; providing for management of the corporation
28 by a board of directors; providing criteria for
29 appointment and operation of the board of directors;
30 requiring that the board of directors develop and
31 implement a plan of action; providing criteria
32 concerning the plan of action; requiring that the
33 board of directors provide annual reports to the
34 Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker
35 of the House of Representatives; requiring that the
36 corporation establish a legacy consulting team that
37 meets specified criteria; specifying the deliverables
38 that the team is to provide for legacy communities;
39 providing criteria for the funding of proposals
40 concerning the legacy community initiative; requiring
41 that the corporation issue requests for proposals;
42 providing criteria for the issuance of such requests;
43 providing criteria for the review and approval of
44 proposals; requiring an objective scoring process;
45 requiring acceptance by the residents of a legacy
46 community; providing requirements for the board of
47 directors concerning the revitalization plans of
48 legacy communities; designating a pilot legacy
49 community; providing objectives concerning the
50 designated community; specifying additional
51 communities to be included in the initiative;
52 providing criteria concerning the revitalization plans
53 of legacy communities; providing an appropriation;
54 providing an effective date.
55
56 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
57
58 Section 1. Legacy communities; economic development;
59 governance; cultural enlightenment; pilot project; additional
60 communities; revitalization plans.—
61 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.—The Legislature finds that:
62 (a) Many historically and culturally rich communities of
63 color throughout this state have contributed significantly to
64 the state's cultural and economic development. Some of these
65 communities developed through the maritime, transportation, and
66 agricultural labor of African-Caribbean immigrants whose
67 descendants are residents of this state. Each such community has
68 a healthy, vibrant, and productive history, replete with
69 contributions in entertainment, art, industry, and trade, and an
70 interactive communal life that attracts families, tourists, and
71 commerce.
72 (b) These communities are now often hidden beneath the
73 debris of many years of blight and disinvestment. These
74 communities have the unique potential to be rediscovered and
75 rebuilt through reinvestment, creating a cultural magnet
76 industry that will again attract families, tourism, and
77 commerce.
78 (c) Because legacy communities share a similar plight,
79 similar assets, similar risks, and similar opportunities, the
80 approach to their survival and growth should be the same.
81 (d) A single legacy community cannot generate sufficient
82 power to command or leverage resources that are sufficient to
83 address its needs and potentialities. But collectively, legacy
84 communities can create industries that attract and leverage
85 resources on a scale that is large enough to foster the building
86 of economic wealth and to fuel self-sufficiency and
87 sustainability for future generations. By joining forces, the
88 legacy communities and the individuals and businesses of those
89 communities can avoid becoming extinct through displacement and
90 instead become positioned to revive, prosper, and leave their
91 legacy for future generations.
92 (e) Legacy communities are at risk of massive displacement
93 due to gentrification. Families are at risk, businesses are at
94 risk, and therefore the community is at risk. These communities
95 are being discovered and appreciated by new residents and others
96 who are willing to invest under current conditions and develop
97 the economic potential. The result is escalated land values,
98 higher taxes, and numerous rental conversions that make it
99 difficult to accommodate persons having low incomes, those
100 living on a fixed income, the working poor, and the unemployed.
101 When low-income residents are displaced, the community's culture
102 is also displaced, and there is a change in the community's
103 character, a loss of place, and an erosion of the community's
104 stability and economic foundations. Civic and sacred places are
105 abandoned. Businesses shrink into oblivion. Educational
106 institutions change drastically as the population shifts.
107 Eventually culture, race, and social status are lost to the new
108 community and the history of the place becomes a forgotten
109 memory. In the process, families are devastated.
110 (f) Gentrifying communities have a unique opportunity to
111 capture the benefits of change and revitalization efforts
112 without unnecessary and unwanted displacement of a community's
113 residents. Because change is introduced and development is
114 imminent, communities that have been devastated can become
115 renewed for existing residents and for those new residents who
116 are willing to become a contributing part of the community. New
117 residents can become a healthy part of a gentrifying community
118 if their participation does not result in displacement and if
119 the existing residents, culture, and assets are valued,
120 respected, and empowered. The opportunity is to rebuild the
121 community as a mixed income, diverse, and culturally sound place
122 to live, work, and play, in which the historical character,
123 culture, populace, and assets of the community are recognized as
124 foundational and irreplaceable. In such communities, everyone
125 benefits from the improvements and everyone participates.
126 (2) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.—Through this act, the Legislature
127 intends to:
128 (a) Create a statewide initiative by which the projects and
129 activities of individuals, community organizations, and
130 businesses in a legacy community implement the legacy-community
131 strategies as planned. The statewide approach, to be known as
132 the Legacy Communities Initiative, shall provide the linkages so
133 that each legacy community is able to appropriately publicize
134 the community, share and leverage resources, and reinforce
135 common interests and projects.
136 (b) Enable sustainable funding for the initiative for 10
137 years in order to help ensure that the initiative's activities
138 and strategies are not short-circuited by a lack of funding.
139 (c) Broadly ensure support and accountability and help
140 minimize the challenges within the local community which have
141 traditionally hindered legacy communities in their respective
142 rebuilding efforts.
143 (d) Foster opportunities for participating legacy
144 communities to share information and expertise, collectively use
145 best practices, and benefit from networking with similar
146 communities.
147 (e) Initiate creative financial benefits so that many
148 legacy communities may be served by common resources and shared
149 expertise. Using collective purchasing, the revenue of legacy
150 communities will increase, creating employment that, with
151 increased tourism, will help to sustain the communities'
152 economies.
153 (f) Conserve revered historical places and cultural
154 legacies, recognizing that legacy communities are unique
155 benefactors contributing to the proud and rich heritage of the
156 state and nation.
157 (3) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this act, the term:
158 (a) “Corporation” means the Urban Empowerment Corporation.
159 (b) “Department” means the Department of Community Affairs.
160 (c) “Legacy community” means a historic and culturally
161 distinct community that is established in an area of this state
162 and developed by capturing and cultivating the people's
163 cultures, skills, beliefs, interests, and values.
164 (d) “Pilot legacy community” means the legacy community
165 designated to initiate the legacy communities revitalization
166 plan to develop, implement, and establish a model for subsequent
167 legacy communities to follow.
168 (e) “Revitalization plan” means a written document,
169 developed through stakeholder interaction, which presents a
170 snapshot of a community's priorities, needs, people, places,
171 character, and story; sets forth a strategy to address and
172 resolve established needs and problems; and describes how the
173 community will preserve, protect, build, and sustain its people
174 and places, its past, and its future.
175 (4) STATEWIDE LEGACY COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE.—There is
176 established the Statewide Legacy Communities Initiative.
177 (a) The statewide initiative is established to support and
178 fund projects and activities undertaken by individuals,
179 community organizations, and businesses in legacy communities
180 implementing the legacy community strategy. The statewide
181 initiative shall provide the linkages that each community needs
182 to be able to appropriately publicize the community, share and
183 leverage resources, and reinforce common interests and projects.
184 (b) The statewide initiative shall provide support and
185 accountability and help to minimize challenges within the local
186 community which have traditionally hindered legacy communities
187 in their respective rebuilding efforts. The statewide initiative
188 shall also serve to standardize the processes and participatory
189 requirements, thereby equalizing the opportunities for all
190 communities involved.
191 (c) The statewide initiative shall provide sustainable
192 funding for a period of years as specified in state
193 appropriations, which must ensure that the activities and
194 strategies of the legacy communities initiative will not be
195 discontinued due to a lack of resources.
196 (d) The statewide initiative shall foster opportunities for
197 participating communities to share information and expertise,
198 collectively use best practices, and benefit from networking
199 with similar communities. The Legislature expects that the
200 participating communities will be served by common resources and
201 shared expertise, will share in collective purchasing, and will
202 help sustain their economies by increased tourism, revenues, and
203 employment. The collective power of revitalized communities and
204 reinstated industry can reverse the effects of years of
205 disinvestment.
206 (5) STATEWIDE LEGACY COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE SUPPORTED
207 SERVICES.—Funding for the statewide legacy community initiative
208 shall support certain designated services and activities for
209 legacy communities. The scope of such services and activities
210 includes:
211 (a) Creating community land trusts. The objective of each
212 community land trust is to ensure that the community property
213 remains under the jurisdiction of the community and to preserve
214 the property for generations in the future. The initiative's
215 land trust specialists shall provide technical assistance to any
216 existing community land trust in a legacy community or help to
217 develop a new community land trust based on the core values of
218 the legacy community initiative.
219 (b) Training, organizing, and supporting faith-based and
220 partner community organizations in fostering a system of
221 communication, community education, advocacy, leadership, and
222 family support in each legacy community. The objective is to
223 increase the capacity of faith-based groups to work with
224 community-based organizations, resident groups, and resource
225 partners in order to achieve the community's goals. Consultants
226 may aid faith-based and community organizations in accessing
227 resources and building cooperation among residents, businesses,
228 and youth toward building together and protecting their assets,
229 culture, families, land, and legacy.
230 (c) Promoting youth initiatives that help reintroduce
231 traditional values and behavioral mores to the community's
232 youth. The statewide legacy community initiative shall support
233 programs to help youth to improve academically, personally, and
234 socially, at home in the family and in the community. Activities
235 provided under this strategy must foster skill development and
236 opportunities to be constructively involved in community
237 building and career development. The legacy consulting team
238 shall assist the new legacy community in accessing or enhancing
239 programs that mentor, train, and help youths build their
240 community and develop marketable skills that are transferable
241 between communities, help youth become employed in the larger
242 society, and provide youth with investment education, budget and
243 financial counseling, leadership skills, community building
244 opportunities, and home-building training.
245 (d) Preserving the culture of gentrifying communities. The
246 statewide legacy community initiative shall support legacy
247 consultants in assisting each legacy community in developing and
248 marketing cultural programs, festivals, story-telling programs,
249 educational activities, and other activities that preserve and
250 promote the culture of the community and its people. Technical
251 assistance shall be provided to help the legacy community
252 identify its own cultural industry where the existing residents
253 and businesses build on the strength of what they have
254 traditionally had in their hands, their homes, and their hearts.
255 The legacy community shall be coached in marketing natural
256 assets to create trade that is built on the culture, traditions,
257 and talents of the community.
258 (e) Providing economic development and wealth-building
259 resource programs and activities. The programs shall be designed
260 to help the community develop and access nontraditional economic
261 resources and funds. These programs must involve economic
262 sources other than the government or private foundations to
263 provide self-sustaining and self-generating methods to build
264 wealth and support for the community and put people to work in
265 meaningful ways that keep assets and resources in the
266 communities so that they are shared by families and sustainable
267 through future generations.
268 (f) Involving community residents in the design and
269 development of their own communities. Using professionals, the
270 legacy consulting team shall engage the community in design
271 workshops to build consensus and participation in planning and
272 community design and introduce the community to tools such as
273 community-sponsored ordinances, rezoning, special districts, and
274 other neighborhood conservation processes.
275 (g) Integrating community builders with other contractors
276 to develop a team of local community builders who can continue
277 to carry out the activities and provide leadership in the
278 community to sustain its efforts. The technical assistance team
279 shall coach the community and its nonprofit organizations to
280 develop the programs, fund the efforts, and engage the community
281 in its own revitalization.
282 (h) Providing each legacy community with technical
283 assistance support to identify eligible property, prepare
284 acquisition applications, and physically redesign local
285 properties to reflect the culture of the community and promote
286 mixed-use and mixed-income development through resident
287 ownership mechanisms. Each legacy community shall receive
288 technical assistance to address current and future environmental
289 issues in their communities and to incorporate environmental
290 planning solutions in the design and physical revitalization of
291 their communities.
292 (i) Developing and implementing a marketing strategy that
293 links legacy communities with their cottage industries through a
294 continuous cultural corridor. The strategy shall engage support
295 and promotion by African and Caribbean-American icons and
296 companies willing to underwrite portions of the campaign.
297 (j) Advocating leadership and empowerment efforts. Such
298 efforts shall, through screening, selection, and support of
299 community representatives who are knowledgeable about community
300 concerns and responsive to residents' needs, be proactive in
301 creating opportunities for families in the community. The legacy
302 consulting team shall educate the community through small group
303 discussions and family-based dialogue on the importance and
304 process of participating in civic activities.
305 (k) Reclaiming underemployed men and bringing them back
306 into wholeness and leadership in the legacy community and in
307 their families. This is an imperative that the statewide legacy
308 community initiative must address. A principal goal of the
309 statewide legacy community initiative is for all legacy
310 communities to focus on the reversal of crime and substance
311 abuse, emphasizing intervention and diversion from crime. Each
312 local legacy community shall place a strong emphasis on
313 supporting black men who are displaced from the home and
314 disproportionately represented in institutions. The statewide
315 legacy community initiative shall support local legacy
316 communities in developing a variety of strategies to help
317 prevent youth from becoming involved in gangs, crime, and
318 substance abuse. The statewide legacy community initiative shall
319 also support efforts to strengthen families and build healthy
320 marriages, emphasizing rites-of-passage activities, constructive
321 counseling, and mentoring programs. Male role models must be
322 actively recruited from fraternities, faith-based groups, black
323 civic organizations, elders, trade groups, male celebrities, and
324 neighborhood male activists. The legacy consulting team shall
325 work with existing organizations and assist them in accessing
326 resources and links to other similar programs to maximize their
327 efforts in this area.
328 (l) Empowering women, the seniors, and families to work
329 with existing organizations and assisting them to access
330 resources and links to other similar programs. Legacy community
331 consultants shall work with nonprofit organizations to help
332 women cope with the issues that most affect them and their
333 children, including, but not limited to, domestic violence,
334 economic development, women's health care, child-rearing, and
335 support for single mothers.
336 (m) Fostering traditional cultural values. The statewide
337 legacy community initiative shall train families to implement
338 historically known spiritual principles and principles of
339 Kwanzaa every day and to remember the values taught by the
340 ancestors which spiritually guide and keep people healthy,
341 cohesive, wise, and compassionate. Consultants shall work with
342 existing organizations and assist them in accessing resources
343 that link them with proponents of community culture and
344 traditions to help re-teach these values and to help incorporate
345 them into the daily behavior and traditions of the legacy
346 community.
347 (6) STATEWIDE LEGACY COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE; URBAN
348 EMPOWERMENT CORPORATION; ORGANIZATION.—
349 (a) There is created within the Department of Community
350 Affairs the Urban Empowerment Corporation.
351 (b) The corporation shall be a not-for-profit corporation
352 registered, incorporated, and operated in accordance with
353 chapter 617, Florida Statutes.
354 (c) The corporation shall serve as the coordinating
355 organization for the development and implementation of the
356 Statewide Legacy Community Initiative. The purpose of the
357 corporation is to assist in carrying out the duties and
358 responsibilities set forth in this section. The corporation
359 shall operate to fulfill its purpose and, in the best interests
360 of the state, the corporation:
361 1. Shall be a corporation primarily acting as an
362 instrumentality of the state pursuant to s. 768.28(2), Florida
363 Statutes, for the purposes of sovereign immunity;
364 2. Is not an agency within the meaning of s. 20.03(11),
365 Florida Statutes;
366 3. Is subject to the open records and meetings requirements
367 of s. 24, Art. I of the State Constitution, chapter 119, Florida
368 Statutes, and s. 286.011, Florida Statutes;
369 4. Is not subject to the provisions of chapter 287, Florida
370 Statutes;
371 5. Is governed by the code of ethics for public officers
372 and employees as set forth in part III of chapter 112, Florida
373 Statutes;
374 6. Is not authorized to create corporate subsidiaries; and
375 7. Does not supplant, replace, or direct existing
376 operations or other programs.
377 (d) The articles of incorporation of the corporation must
378 be approved in a written agreement with the Department of
379 Community Affairs. The articles of incorporation must provide
380 that:
381 1. The corporation shall provide equal employment
382 opportunities for all persons regardless of race, color,
383 religion, gender, national origin, age, handicap, or marital
384 status;
385 2. The corporation is subject to the public-records and
386 public-meetings requirements of s. 24, Art. I of the State
387 Constitution;
388 3. All officers, directors, and employees of the
389 corporation are governed by the code of ethics for public
390 officers and employees as set forth in part III of chapter 112,
391 Florida Statutes;
392 4. Members of the board of directors of the corporation are
393 responsible for the prudent use of all public and private funds
394 and that they will ensure that the use of funds is in accordance
395 with all applicable laws, bylaws, and contractual requirements;
396 and
397 5. The fiscal year of the corporation is from July 1
398 through June 30.
399 (e) The affairs of the corporation shall be managed by a
400 board of directors who shall serve without compensation. Each
401 director shall have one vote. The chair of the board of
402 directors shall be selected by a majority vote of the directors,
403 a quorum being present. The board of directors shall consist of
404 five members appointed by the Governor. The Governor shall
405 appoint the members by September 1, 2009.
406 (f) The board of directors shall provide a copy of the
407 corporation's annual report to the Governor, the President of
408 the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the
409 Secretary of Community Affairs.
410 (g) The corporation shall develop and implement a plan of
411 action that:
412 1. Facilitates meetings between prospective investors and
413 eligible organizations in the corporation;
414 2. Provides for hiring full-time staff members, including
415 an executive director, who understand relevant community
416 development issues needed to ensure that appropriate services
417 are provided to each legacy community participating in this
418 initiative and who can promote legacy communities to investors
419 who respect the community's efforts to preserve its heritage;
420 and
421 3. Develops cooperative relationships with publicly
422 supported organizations, private corporations, and private
423 foundations that work together to provide resources or special
424 knowledge helpful to the legacy community's economic and social
425 growth.
426 (h) By December 1 of each year, the corporation shall issue
427 an annual report of its activities. The report shall include:
428 1. An assessment of compliance with its plan of action and
429 information on any assistance and activities provided by the
430 corporation to assist legacy communities.
431 2. A description of the benefits, economic and social, to
432 this state resulting from the corporation's work.
433 3. Independently audited financial statements, including
434 statements that show receipts and expenditures during the
435 preceding fiscal year for personnel, administration, and
436 operational costs of the corporation.
437 (i)1. The corporation shall establish a legacy consulting
438 team to ensure that appropriate resources, services, and
439 programs are provided to each legacy community participating in
440 the statewide legacy community initiative.
441 2. The corporation shall consist of experts who shall
442 assist legacy communities in developing a revitalization plan to
443 bring together residents, property owners, and business persons
444 to plan for a long-term investment in the legacy community. The
445 legacy consulting team shall work to identify community needs,
446 develop specific strategies for revitalization in each
447 respective legacy community, and engage resources to meet the
448 needs. The legacy consulting team shall provide deliverables for
449 each legacy community which include:
450 a. Assessment of needs and capacity.
451 b. Consultation and advisement.
452 c. Community and board education.
453 d. Community builders training.
454 e. Development or enhancement of existing programs and
455 services that embrace the legacy community initiative
456 strategies.
457 f. Resource development.
458 g. Revitalization plan assistance.
459 h. Establishment of linkages within the legacy communities
460 network.
461 i. Establishment of linkages to resources and potential
462 partners outside the legacy communities network.
463 j. Liaison and interface activities with the Legislature.
464 k. Expertise and technical assistance in the funding
465 application and awards process.
466 l. Troubleshooting, mediation, and facilitation of local
467 processes.
468 m. Promotion of legacy communities and the initiative.
469 n. Assistance with evaluation and corrective actions.
470 (7) STATEWIDE LEGACY COMMUNITY INITIATIVE; APPLICATIONS;
471 REVIEW; FUNDING.—
472 (a) The corporation shall issue requests for proposals to
473 fulfill the purposes of the statewide legacy community
474 initiative as described in this section. The corporation shall
475 review the proposals in a committee appointed by its board of
476 directors, which shall make a recommendation for final selection
477 based on an objective scoring process, with published criteria
478 developed by the board of directors of the corporation before
479 issuance of the request for proposals. A proposal may be
480 approved in three phases: prestartup and development,
481 implementation, and sustainability and replication. Final
482 approval of the selected proposal must be by the board of
483 directors of the corporation and consistent with the published
484 criteria it developed before issuing the request for proposals.
485 (b)1. In order to be eligible for assistance, a proposed
486 legacy community seeking to implement the statewide legacy
487 community initiative must demonstrate acceptance of the
488 initiative by the community's residents.
489 2. The corporation shall review the revitalization plan of
490 each legacy community. For those communities accepted into the
491 initiative, the corporation shall act as a mentor for the legacy
492 community, develop marketing information concerning the
493 community, and use its local resources to attract capital
494 investment, government grants, and foundation assistance.
495 (8) DESIGNATING PILOT LEGACY COMMUNITY.—That portion of
496 Miami-Dade county known as Coconut Grove is designated as the
497 initial statewide pilot legacy community.
498 (a) Coconut Grove is the epicenter for promoting Caribbean
499 culture in this state. The Coconut Grove area celebrates the
500 contributions of Caribbean immigrant populations from Key West
501 to Tallahassee. The legacy communities initiative shall identify
502 and empower the immigrant Caribbean communities. In Miami-Dade
503 county, Coconut Grove was the first such settlement for these
504 populations, the largest of which were Bahamians. It is
505 historically and culturally the first Caribbean community in
506 Florida, and its recent increasing diversity adds to the
507 richness of this community as a Caribbean Epicenter.
508 (b) In Coconut Grove, the objectives are to:
509 1. Preserve the Bahamian-Island culture and character in
510 the businesses, community places and events, daily life, and the
511 built environment;
512 2. Promote and support the Island District Merchant's
513 Association and wealth-building strategies;
514 3. Support home ownership and protect residents from
515 displacement;
516 4. Protect and support community-based organizations and
517 strategies that assist families, youth, elders, and individuals;
518 and
519 5. Facilitate cohesiveness, effective advocacy, and
520 community involvement in the revitalization process.
521 (9) SPECIFYING ADDITIONAL COMMUNITIES.—Additional
522 communities that must be included in the Legacy Communities
523 Statewide Initiative along with the pilot project in Coconut
524 Grove include Brownsville, Little Haiti, Liberty City, Overtown,
525 Lemon City, Opa Locka, Carol City, Cooper City, South Miami, Key
526 West, Bahama Village, Del Ray, West Palm Beach, Belle Glade,
527 Riviera Beach, Pleasant City, Eatonville, Orlando, Port St. Joe,
528 and Jacksonville.
529 (10) REVITALIZATION PLANS OF LEGACY COMMUNITIES.—Each
530 legacy community's revitalization plan must:
531 (a) Set out assumptions and objectives and serve as the
532 framework for the revitalization of the community.
533 (b) Be usable as a communication and marketing tool.
534 (c) Be formulated by a diverse team of professionals and
535 stakeholders to address the many different complex issues facing
536 the Coconut Grove pilot project and other legacy communities.
537 (d) Describe the legacy community's history.
538 (e) Set forth statistics and current conditions with
539 respect to family status, income, jobs and employment
540 opportunities in the community, current zoning issues, public
541 transportation, conditions in local education, social services,
542 housing, economic development, community cohesion, the culture
543 of the community, environmental justice issues, visual themes in
544 the community, historical and preservation issues, community
545 involvement, key community interest areas, community relations
546 challenges, and the community's social and economic history,
547 culture, collective character, current composition, and assets.
548 (f) Describe the process for community involvement which
549 provides a forum for residents to become informed about civic
550 affairs and actively involved in making decisions that
551 ultimately affect their community, and define ways in which the
552 process must be improved or changed to make members of the
553 community equal partners in the dialog concerning revitalization
554 projects in their neighborhoods.
555 (g) Be developed in response to needs of the community as
556 indicated by empirical data, surveys, focus group feedback,
557 economic indicators, prior studies, community input, historical
558 background, community asset mapping, stakeholder input, resource
559 partnership input, and demographic profiles.
560 (h) Define strategies concerning the services and
561 activities described in subsection (5) and identify standards
562 for effective delivery of such services and activities.
563 (i) Be reviewed and receive comments from each identified
564 stakeholder.
565 (j) Set forth the community's needs and opportunities, the
566 need for revitalization and its importance to the community,
567 partnerships, resources and assets, goals for revitalization,
568 proposed projects and activities, the process and essential
569 strategies for addressing needs, timeframes and benchmarks for
570 various phases of developing the local legacy community,
571 committed or potential resources, budget projections, benefits
572 and returns on investments, deliverables, local recommendations,
573 an evaluation process, anticipated outcomes and results, and
574 proof of sustainability.
575 Section 2. The sum of $__________ is appropriated from the
576 General Revenue Fund to the Department of Community Affairs for
577 the purpose of paying salaries and other administrative expenses
578 necessary to carry out the provisions of this act relating to
579 the statewide legacy community initiative during the 2009-2010
580 fiscal year.
581 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.