Destin CRA accepts Town Center master plan, defers Harbor plan amid revenue-review concerns

The City of Destin Community Redevelopment Agency board on March 17 accepted the Town Center CRA master plan, approved the CRAfinancial statements for fiscal 2024 and voted to defer final action on the Harbor CRA master plan while the city attorney researches whether the original CRA agreement with the county can be reopened.

The action matters because council members said the city may be leaving redevelopment revenue to the county under an existing agreement and state legislation could limit future CRA financing options. The board directed staff to return with options at the first meeting in May and asked the city attorney to research the legal effect of changing the original CRA findings on that agreement.

Larry, the city manager, introduced a draft Harbor CRA master plan prepared with consultant 3TP, staff and the Harbor CRA advisory committee, saying the document is a reworked, updated plan that aligns with current regulations and mobility projects that overlap the harbor district. A member of the public, Bobby Wagner of 422 Anderson Drive, urged the board to emphasize workforce housing as the CRA districts expand commerce in the area: "I would just like to make sure that there's emphasis on workforce housing in the CRA districts as we expand the commerce," Wagner said during public comment.

Council member Jim Bagby pressed staff and legal counsel about the original CRA agreement with the county and what a revision of the CRAfindings would mean for that revenue-sharing arrangement. "Where we gave up 50% of our revenue to the county, which we never should have done," Bagby said, arguing the city should explore reopening the agreement to recover more locally controlled funds for redevelopment. City Attorney Kimberly Cop said she did not believe simply changing the original findings would, on its own, reopen the county agreement and offered to research options. "I don't think that alone would open it up to the county," Cop said, and added she would look at options and report back.

After discussion about whether to approve both plans together, the board moved to approve the Town Center master plan immediately and to postpone final action on the Harbor plan. Council members voted to accept the Town Center plan and then passed a motion directing staff to bring the Harbor plan back to the CRA board at its first meeting in May after the city attorney examines options for renegotiating the county agreement.

Board members also accepted the CRAfinancial statements for fiscal 2024, the same statements previously accepted by the city council on March 7. During discussion about state legislation affecting CRAs, staff noted proposed bills (referred to in the meeting as HB 991 / SB 1242) would cause CRAs to sunset at their termination dates and generally limit bonding or financing activity after July 1, with future work on a pay-as-you-go cash basis. Crystal, the finance director, said the Town Center CRA is due to receive its full allocation by law, while the Harbor CRA is subject to a match in which the county retains the difference between the county and city millage rates.

The board briefly discussed other revenue tools, including municipal service taxing units (MSTUs) or municipal service benefit units (MSBUs), as potential ways to raise funds for targeted areas, but no new taxing district was created.

The meeting closed with the board recording the votes on the Town Center plan acceptance, the motion to return the Harbor plan in May after legal review, and the acceptance of the fiscal 2024 audit and financial statements.

Looking ahead, the CRA board will revisit the Harbor CRA master plan at its first May meeting; the city attorney is to present legal options for reopening the county revenue agreement and staff will return with implementation options if the board wishes to pursue renegotiation.