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Blue Ribbon Committee presents 'invest-ready' recommendations and incentive toolkit to council
Summary
Consultants working with the mayor's Blue Ribbon Committee outlined a flowchart to streamline development approvals, an incentive toolkit of roughly 15–16 options for encouraging targeted development (including affordable housing), and a scoring tool to evaluate projects; they proposed an 'Invest Ready Communities' pilot with Evansville as a test.
Consultants for the mayor's Blue Ribbon Committee updated the Evansville Common Council on Sept. 22 about recommendations to streamline approvals and attract development, with a focus on increasing affordable and mixed-use housing.
Andrea Kissel of the Veridis Group, Jack Woods (Divertis Group and Civitas Strategies) and Pete Olson (Civitas Strategies) presented a multi-part strategy that the committee developed over roughly nine to 12 months. Their work included (1) a public-facing flowchart clarifying where developers and businesses should begin the approval process; (2) an "incentive toolkit" enumerating about 15–16 tools the city could use to encourage targeted projects; and (3) an evaluation spreadsheet for Development and Metropolitan Development (DMD) to rate projects on a 0–2,000 scale to guide incentives.
The flowchart aims to reduce delays by directing developers to the appropriate first contact — the Department of Metropolitan Development (DMD), the Area Planning Commission (APC), or other offices — and by clarifying when projects should seek incentives or redevelopment-commission review. Olson told the council the goal is government efficiency: "When we start talking about flowcharts, that's part of what we want to do is...help our government agencies be more efficient," and he described pre-planning technical advisory committee meetings as a possible fast-track mechanism for projects that have limited outstanding issues.
The incentive toolkit includes conventional financial tools (TIF, tax abatement, payment-in-lieu-of-taxes) and nonfinancial incentives such as preapproved building plans for common infill types, which consultants said shorten timelines because "time is money" for developers. Woods noted preapproved plans and clearer processing could make Evansville more competitive for developers who build affordable and attainable housing.
Consultants also proposed a scoring framework DMD can use to evaluate projects on factors such as unit counts, proposed rents, commercial square footage, parking and walkability to determine appropriate incentive levels. As a next step, the consulting teams proposed piloting an "Invest Ready Communities" certification for Evansville intended to document that the city has transparent steps and modern processes to expedite projects; they said Mayor Terry has expressed support.
Council members and presenters discussed the complexity of existing zoning code language and flagged the code’s density as a barrier. Olson recommended a zoning/code review and suggested a single contact or "sherpa" to help developers navigate utilities, public safety and zoning steps. Consultants provided a prioritized list of short-term action items (0–12 months): publish the approval flowchart; initiate a zoning/code review; craft an economic development strategic plan; continue downtown revitalization efforts; and market Evansville to prospective developers.
Ending: Consultants said they would share the full toolkit and evaluation spreadsheet with city staff and the Blue Ribbon Committee and continue work on the invest-ready pilot with mayoral support.
