The Community Investment Committee voted Aug. 25 to send Bill 25-37 to the full council with a favorable recommendation to amend the River West development plan and establish a residential tax-increment finance area covering parts of the Lincoln and Kennedy Park neighborhoods.

Joseph Molnar, assistant director with Growth and Opportunity, told the committee the residential TIF would allow the city to capture tax increment from new single-family construction in a defined allocation area and dedicate that increment to neighborhood infrastructure and development projects. Molnar said roughly half the parcels in the proposed boundary are vacant, and the area includes a concentration of lots likely to be redeveloped.

Molnar said the city has an existing partnership with Intend Indiana and South Bend Mutual Housing; Intend Indiana is slated to build about 92 new homes in the neighborhood over the next five years, and the residential TIF would allow the property-tax revenue from that new construction to be reinvested locally. He explained the TIF would be used for projects such as sidewalks, street improvements, utilities, park improvements and development projects and that the base assessment date would be Jan. 1, 2025, with a capture period of about 20 years.

Molnar also addressed common questions: the TIF will not change current property tax rates for existing owners, it does not alter zoning or permitted uses, and the city is not changing the acquisition list. He said staff would mail notices to impacted parcels and that a Redevelopment Commission (RDC) final approval and an RDC public hearing are part of the remaining process.

No members of the public spoke during the committee's public hearing. A motion to forward Bill 25-37 with a favorable recommendation passed on roll-call vote. Molnar said the item would proceed to the RDC for final approval on Sept. 11 if the council supports the change.