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Commissioners approve letter backing Doubles Lake Renaissance Zone renewal
Summary
The commission voted to send a letter of support for Doubles Lake’s Renaissance Zone renewal application, after an assessor outlined changes to the program and data on tax-exemption recovery periods.
Rob Johnson, city assessor for the city of Doubles Lake, asked the Ramsey County Commission to provide a letter of support for the city’s Renaissance Zone renewal application and described proposed changes in the city’s development plan.
The commission voted to approve a motion to draft and send a letter recommending the Renaissance Zone renewal; the motion passed with all commissioners saying “aye.”
Johnson told commissioners the Renaissance Zone program in Doubles Lake is set to expire at the end of 2025 and the city is eligible to apply for a 10-year renewal. He said the development plan included block-cap details and an updated investment benefit schedule that moves away from an all-or-nothing, five-year exemption toward a tiered schedule that can reach up to eight years for commercial projects. "The state's okay with us staying where we're at," Johnson said about current block counts, and he described benchmarking work intended to better document program benefits for taxing entities and property owners.
Johnson provided figures on how long the tax-exemption benefits take to be "recovered" by taxing jurisdictions based on the data his office has: an average of 4.39 years across all projects; 2.3 years for commercial projects; and 12.25 years for residential projects. He said the city plans to continue the same 42 blocks within the zone for the renewal period and to increase outreach to property owners inside the zone.
Commissioners approved the requested letter of support without recorded dissent. The county clerk recorded the motion, second and a voice vote of "aye"; no roll-call tally with individual names was given in the transcript.
The assessor noted that when an exemption expires, the property’s taxable value returns to the roll and that first-year post-exemption value counts as new growth for levy-cap computations. Johnson said this is an extra incentive for properties to pursue projects inside the zone.
The commission did not modify the development plan at the meeting; the vote was limited to approving a letter of support for Doubles Lake’s renewal application.
