Bill No. 22-19 Development Plan for the River East Deveploment Area

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7. Placemaking and the Built Environment: Promote an attractive public realm that preserves and enhances the City's history and built environment. a. Support walkable urban development. b. Encourage urban design that creates or enhances a sense of place, provides vibrancy, incorporates arts and culture, and fosters safety. c. Integrate parks and trails into the city using urban design principles. d. Prioritize projects that preserve and rehabilitate existing buildings over ones of new construction. e. Support development that is context sensitive and conserves the historical, architectural, and social fabric of the City. 8. Education & Training: Provide educational and training opportunities that support people of all ages to participate successfully in the economy. a. Ensure a strong match between job skills among the population and present and future needs of employers. b. Partner with organizations and institutions to enhance educational opportunities for youth from early childhood, pre-K to Grade 12, post-secondary and higher education. c. Partner with organizations that offer internships, co-ops, apprenticeships, continuing education, lifelong learning, and other job training programs. Tax Increment Financing("TIF') District The South Bend Redevelopment Commission may implement the use of TIF within a redevelopment area pursuant to state law (I.C. 36-7-14). TIF districts target blighted areas in order to transform them into viable areas making the community more appealing and attractive for economic development, which creates a better quality of life for the districts' residents. TIF districts are powerful and effective tools that may provide financing for infrastructure improvements within redevelopment projects which may, in turn, entice market dollars back into abandoned and dilapidated areas. The lifespan of a TIF district varies based upon the time of its creation. TIF creates revenues for improvements without raising taxes, offers incentives for businesses and developers, and builds communities. TIF works by capturing additional property tax revenue due to the revitalization of a designated area. The assessment rate of the year in which the TIF is established is used as the base year, and tax revenues generated due to the increase in assessment over the base year assessment of properties within the TIF district are set aside for use in that TIF district. Thus, no new taxes or increases in tax rates occur, rather TIF funds are generated when property values improve due to the overall improvement of the TIF district. Statutory Findings The River East Development Area Plan meets the following required findings by the Redevelopment Commission pursuant to State Law (36-7-14-15(a)): 5