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Nassau Bay holds first reading to extend tax increment reinvestment zone for redevelopment
Summary
City consultants and council held a public hearing and first reading on a plan to extend Reinvestment Zone No. 1 for 30 years and broaden eligible projects to support waterfront and commercial redevelopment.
The Nassau Bay City Council held a public hearing and conducted a first reading on an amendment to the Project Plan and Reinvestment Zone Financing Plan for Reinvestment Zone No. 1, seeking to extend the zonefor an additional 30 years and expand the list of eligible public and partnership projects.
Sue Darcy, a consultant to the city on the tax increment reinvestment zone (TIRZ), told the council the amendment "extends the life of the zone for 30 years beyond its current term" and increases the kinds of eligible projects the city can support, including infrastructure, parks, trails and public-private partnerships.
The amendment was presented as a tool to preserve the city's ability to assemble public funds to partner with developers and to protect local redevelopment authority against possible future state legislative changes. The mayor said the city wants to "protect the ability for us to have what we're calling the phase 2 of our redevelopment," and said the amendment would allow Nassau Bay to "amass" funds to participate in waterfront and commercial redevelopment.
City consultants described how the TIRZ works: the base taxable value for the commercial area was set in 2007 at about $107,000,000 and the consultants estimated the current taxable value at roughly $230,000,000, producing roughly $130,000,000 in increment so far. The council heard that about $15,000,000 in infrastructure work has been paid from the increment and that nearly $4,000,000 went to environmental remediation of older buildings. Council and staff estimated the city could marshal roughly $80,000,000 in today's dollars over the additional term to support further redevelopment, while emphasizing the amendment would not raise property tax rates for residents.
No vote was taken on final adoption; council held the ordinance for a second reading. Sue Darcy and staff answered multiple public and council questions about the mechanics of TIRZ financing, how base value is set, and the city's ability to rescind or reduce participation if future circumstances change. Council emphasized that extending the zone preserves a local redevelopment tool and that the city can shorten or reduce participation later if needed.
The matter will return for a second reading before final action is taken.
