Community Reinvestment Agency -- SJR, 2 May 2018

San Juan County supports collaborative community led efforts to effectively manage commercial and residential development, and redevelopment, to meet future growth in San Juan County

During the 2016 legislative session, important structural changes affecting Utah Code Title 17C were made:

• Removing previous redevelopment project tracks (EDA, URA, CDA) and streamlining them into one track called Community Reinvestment Areas (CRAs)
• Preventing the creation of a new project area if 51% of property owners contest, Amending annual reporting requirements
• Requiring 10-20% allocation for affordable housing in project area budgets

CRAs are the newest public tax increment financing tool that aims to assist with financing redevelopment activities from real and personal property taxable value increases. They are a flexible tool which can be used to achieve a number of redevelopment criteria. Typically, they are used to remove property blight, add new jobs, or develop vacant land. 

Overview of CRA Tool

Article featured in the San Juan Record, 2 July 2018, see article here, provided an overview of the CRA tool in San Juan County.

At the end of last year we worked with the commission on the creation of a Community Reinvestment Agency aka CRA. The intent of the CRA creation is to increase economic development and activity within our communities.

We thought it would be helpful to share some key points on the purpose, uses, and processes of the CRA:

What is a CRA?

• Separate legal entity, comprised of our County Commissioners
• Economic Development Tool
• Primarily used to provide tax increment investment

How does tax increment work?

• CRA creates a project area
• Provides tax increment for a period of time, usually a maximum of 75% for 20 years

How can tax increment be used?

• Reimburse horizontal infrastructure
• Reimburse development costs
• Buy or buydown land
• Provide direct development incentives
• Public Infrastructure

What is the approval process?

• Find project: developer request or country driven
• Adopt survey resolution which includes area’s boundaries
• Draft a project area plan and budget
• Hold a public hearing
• Negotiate interlocal agreements with taxing entities
• Negotiate participation agreement with developer

 

The San Juan County CRA encompasses the entire county, with the exception of Blanding City who has created their own CRA. Both San Juan County and Blanding City have pulled on Cody Deeter, with EFG Consulting, to assist in the creation and implementation of CRA areas. Currently we are looking at a few projects for the pipeline. The initial project is Bluff Dwellings, for which a public hearing will be held on May 15th during Commission Meeting.

 

If you are interested in initiating the approval process for a project or have any further questions please feel free to contact our office: [email protected] or 435-587-3235