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Lynnwood staff brief council on reapplying for Opportunity Zone designations; displacement concerns raised
Summary
City staff presented a draft resolution to reapply for Opportunity Zone designation covering two Lynnwood census tracts, noting the Department of Commerce application window runs April 28 —'8. Council members pressed staff on displacement and whether local zoning protections can limit gentrification; staff said federal OZ rules cannot be modified and local code must provide protections.
Sarah Cho, the city center program manager, told the Lynnwood City Council the city plans to reapply for Opportunity Zone (OZ) designation for two census tracts — the city center tract and the South Lynnwood tract — in the program's second-round application. The Department of Commerce application window opened April 28 and closes May 28, staff said, and the draft resolution before council would confirm Lynnwood's support for submitting the application.
The nut of the issue, staff said, is that the federal Opportunity Zone program provides tax incentives to encourage certain private investment but does not allow local governments to insert use…
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