Gov. Ritter signs Carroll's blight rules into law

By SARA CASTELLANOS
The Aurora Sentinel
Thursday, April 15, 2010
http://aurorasentinel.com/articles/2010/04/15/news/metro_aurora/doc4bc79fa05453e966478800.txt

AURORA | Developers will not be able to use public subsidies to build on empty, agricultural land that is in good condition, according to an act signed into law by Gov. Bill Ritter on April 14.

The law will create restrictions to declare an empty plot of land a "blighted" area that would allow the developer to use a partially public-financing method to fund a project.

"This is a result of a 14-year effort to get this reform through," said state Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, a prime sponsor of the bill.

Agricultural land could not be declared blight as of June 1 unless it's considered to be environmentally contaminated, or most of the area on the perimeter of the land has already been urbanized, or it has been fully surrounded by urban development for at least three years, or all parties that would be taxed agree to include the land in an urban renewal plan.

Carroll and state Rep. Randy Fischer, D-Fort Collins, the bill's co-sponsor, have said their motivation for creating the House Bill 1107 was because current urban renewal practices are unnecessarily costing the state and taxpayers millions of dollars.

"This will make it easier to stay true to our mission where if we're going to use publicly subsidized money, it should be for projects where we're really seeing urban blight," Carroll said. "This helps realign the incentive so we can focus on revitalizing the actually blighted areas."

Currently, developers can create a Tax Increment Financing district and use property tax revenues meant for school districts and counties to fund an urban renewal project if the land is declared blight. Under state laws, the state has to backfill any money lost from school districts. Recent urban renewal projects have cost Colorado about $50 million per year, said the bill's sponsors.

Blight conditions before the bill could easily apply to empty fields with stipulations such as inadequate public utilities, deteriorated buildings or inadequate road access.

Razing the dilapidated Fan Fare building on Havana Street and East First Avenue to build residential property and retail space would be an appropriate use of urban renewal practices, Carroll said.

But the recently approved Horizon Uptown project that will be constructed by Australian-based developer Lend Lease, will be built on a prime piece of agricultural land that would have likely been redeveloped anyway, she said.

The Aurora City Council declared the 503-acre parcel of land on Interstate 70 and E-470 blight in March. The city will pay about $90 million for a redevelopment project that will include residential and commercial space, a school and a library, among other things, through a Tax Increment Financing district.

"The Lend Lease project in Aurora is the poster child of abuse of blighting," Carroll said. "That project could have and should have been able to be developed without any subsidy whatsoever."

Lend Lease officials declined to comment on the passage of the bill, as the law will not have an effect their project.

City officials have said they will not take a stance on the bill.

Printable Version of this Page