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Senate passes RDA revisions, replacing 'blight' with 'development impediment' after heated debate over eminent domain
Summary
The Utah Senate passed third substitute House Bill 245 to reframe 'blight' as 'development impediment' and tighten redevelopment procedures, a move supporters say eases cooperation with property owners while opponents warned it could make condemnation easier; the bill passed 15‑7.
The Utah State Senate on the third‑reading calendar approved third substitute House Bill 245, which revises Community Reinvestment Agency (RDA) law by replacing the statutory term "blight" with "development impediment," moving tax‑increment agreements to interlocal agreements, increasing public notice and clarifying allowable uses of tax increment for affordable housing.
Senator Harper, the bill sponsor, said the change was intended to soften the terminology and improve cooperation between property owners, municipalities and redevelopment agencies. "If you're on a fault line, if you have failing structure, things of that nature," Harper said, describing the conditions that will qualify as development impediments and adding…
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