HB 859

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to community redevelopment; amending s.
3163.340, F.S.; expanding the definition of the term
4"blighted area" to include land previously used as a
5military facility; providing an effective date.
6
7Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
8
9     Section 1.  Subsection (8) of section 163.340, Florida
10Statutes, is amended to read:
11     163.340  Definitions.--The following terms, wherever used
12or referred to in this part, have the following meanings:
13     (8)  "Blighted area" means an area in which there are a
14substantial number of deteriorated, or deteriorating structures,
15in which conditions, as indicated by government-maintained
16statistics or other studies, are leading to economic distress or
17endanger life or property, and in which two or more of the
18following factors are present:
19     (a)  Predominance of defective or inadequate street layout,
20parking facilities, roadways, bridges, or public transportation
21facilities;
22     (b)  Aggregate assessed values of real property in the area
23for ad valorem tax purposes have failed to show any appreciable
24increase over the 5 years prior to the finding of such
25conditions;
26     (c)  Faulty lot layout in relation to size, adequacy,
27accessibility, or usefulness;
28     (d)  Unsanitary or unsafe conditions;
29     (e)  Deterioration of site or other improvements;
30     (f)  Inadequate and outdated building density patterns;
31     (g)  Falling lease rates per square foot of office,
32commercial, or industrial space compared to the remainder of the
33county or municipality;
34     (h)  Tax or special assessment delinquency exceeding the
35fair value of the land;
36     (i)  Residential and commercial vacancy rates higher in the
37area than in the remainder of the county or municipality;
38     (j)  Incidence of crime in the area higher than in the
39remainder of the county or municipality;
40     (k)  Fire and emergency medical service calls to the area
41proportionately higher than in the remainder of the county or
42municipality;
43     (l)  A greater number of violations of the Florida Building
44Code in the area than the number of violations recorded in the
45remainder of the county or municipality;
46     (m)  Diversity of ownership or defective or unusual
47conditions of title which prevent the free alienability of land
48within the deteriorated or hazardous area; or
49     (n)  Governmentally owned property with adverse
50environmental conditions caused by a public or private entity.
51
52However, the term "blighted area" also means an any area in
53which at least one of the factors identified in paragraphs (a)
54through (n) are present and all taxing authorities subject to s.
55163.387(2)(a) agree, either by interlocal agreement or
56agreements with the agency or by resolution, that the area is
57blighted, or an area that consists of land previously used as a
58military facility. Such agreement or resolution shall only
59determine only that the area is blighted. For purposes of
60qualifying for the tax credits authorized in chapter 220,
61"blighted area" means an area as defined in this subsection.
62     Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.