Fla. Stat. § 163.2517 – Designation of urban infill and redevelopment area

(1) A local government may designate a geographic area or areas within its jurisdiction as an urban infill and redevelopment area for the purpose of targeting economic development, job creation, housing, transportation, crime prevention, neighborhood revitalization and preservation, and land use incentives to encourage urban infill and redevelopment within the urban core.
(2) (a) As part of the preparation and implementation of an urban infill and redevelopment plan, a collaborative and holistic community participation process must be implemented to include each neighborhood within the area targeted for designation as an urban infill and redevelopment area. The objective of the community participation process is to encourage communities within the proposed urban infill and redevelopment area to participate in the design and implementation of the plan, including a "visioning" of the urban core, before redevelopment.
(b) 1. A neighborhood participation process must be developed to provide for the ongoing involvement of stakeholder groups including, but not limited to, community-based organizations, neighborhood associations, financial institutions, faith organizations, housing authorities, financial institutions, existing businesses, businesses interested in operating in the community, schools, and neighborhood residents, in preparing and implementing the urban infill and redevelopment plan.
2. The neighborhood participation process must include a governance structure whereby the local government shares decisionmaking authority for developing and implementing the urban infill and redevelopment plan with communitywide representatives. For example, the local government and community representatives could organize a corporation under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code to implement specific redevelopment projects.
(3) A local government seeking to designate a geographic area within its jurisdiction as an urban infill and redevelopment area shall prepare a plan that describes the infill and redevelopment objectives of the local government within the proposed area. In lieu of preparing a new plan, the local government may demonstrate that an existing plan or combination of plans associated with a community redevelopment area, Florida Main Street program, Front Porch Florida Community, sustainable community, enterprise zone, or neighborhood improvement district includes the factors listed in paragraphs (a)-(n), including a collaborative and holistic community participation process, or amend such existing plans to include these factors. The plan shall demonstrate the local government and community's commitment to comprehensively address the urban problems within the urban infill and redevelopment area and identify activities and programs to accomplish locally identified goals such as code enforcement; improved educational opportunities; reduction in crime; neighborhood revitalization and preservation; provision of infrastructure needs, including mass transit and multimodal linkages; and mixed-use planning to promote multifunctional redevelopment to improve both the residential and commercial quality of life in the area. The plan shall also:
1. (a) Contain a map depicting the geographic area or areas to be included within the designation.
2. (b) Confirm that the infill and redevelopment area is within an area designated for urban uses in the local government's comprehensive plan.
3. (c) Identify and map existing enterprise zones, community redevelopment areas, community development corporations, brownfield areas, downtown redevelopment districts, safe neighborhood improvement districts, historic preservation districts, and empowerment zones or enterprise communities located within the area proposed for designation as an urban infill and redevelopment area and provide a framework for coordinating infill and redevelopment programs within the urban core.
4. (d) Identify a memorandum of understanding between the district school board and the local government jurisdiction regarding public school facilities located within the urban infill and redevelopment area to identify how the school board will provide priority to enhancing public school facilities and programs in the designated area, including the reuse of existing buildings for schools within the area.
5. (e) Identify each neighborhood within the proposed area and state community preservation and revitalization goals and projects identified through a collaborative and holistic community participation process and how such projects will be implemented.
6. (f) Identify how the local government and community-based organizations intend to implement affordable housing programs, including, but not limited to, economic and community development programs administered by federal and state agencies, within the urban infill and redevelopment area.
7. (g) Identify strategies for reducing crime.
8. (h) If applicable, provide guidelines for the adoption of land development regulations specific to the urban infill and redevelopment area which include, for example, setbacks and parking requirements appropriate to urban development.
9. (i) Identify and map any existing transportation concurrency exception areas and any relevant public transportation corridors designated by a metropolitan planning organization in its long-range transportation plans or by the local government in its comprehensive plan for which the local government seeks designation as a transportation concurrency exception area. For those areas, describe how public transportation, pedestrian ways, and bikeways will be implemented as an alternative to increased automobile use.
10. (j) Identify and adopt a package of financial and local government incentives which the local government will offer for new development, expansion of existing development, and redevelopment within the urban infill and redevelopment area. Examples of such incentives include:
  1. Waiver of license and permit fees.
  2. Exemption of sales made in the urban infill and redevelopment area from local option sales surtaxes imposed pursuant to ¹s. 212.054.
  3. Waiver of delinquent local taxes or fees to promote the return of property to productive use.
  4. Expedited permitting.
  5. Lower transportation impact fees for development which encourages more use of public transit, pedestrian, and bicycle modes of transportation.
  6. Prioritization of infrastructure spending within the urban infill and redevelopment area.
  7. Local government absorption of developers' concurrency costs. In order to be authorized to recognize the exemption from local option sales surtaxes pursuant to subparagraph 2., the owner, lessee, or lessor of the new development, expanding existing development, or redevelopment within the urban infill and redevelopment area must file an application under oath with the governing body having jurisdiction over the urban infill and redevelopment area where the business is located. The application must include the name and address of the business claiming the exclusion from collecting local option surtaxes; an address and assessment roll parcel number of the urban infill and redevelopment area for which the exemption is being sought; a description of the improvements made to accomplish the new development, expanding development, or redevelopment of the real property; a copy of the building permit application or the building permit issued for the development of the real property; a new application for a certificate of registration with the Department of Revenue with the address of the new development, expanding development, or redevelopment; and the location of the property. The local government must review and approve the application and submit the completed application and documentation along with a copy of the ordinance adopted pursuant to subsection (5) to the Department of Revenue in order for the business to become eligible to make sales exempt from local option sales surtaxes in the urban infill and redevelopment area.
11. (k) Identify how activities and incentives within the urban infill and redevelopment area will be coordinated and what administrative mechanism the local government will use for the coordination.
12. (l) Identify how partnerships with the financial and business community will be developed.
13. (m) Identify the governance structure that the local government will use to involve community representatives in the implementation of the plan.
14. (n) Identify performance measures to evaluate the success of the local government in implementing the urban infill and redevelopment plan.
(4) In order for a local government to designate an urban infill and redevelopment area, it must amend its comprehensive land use plan under s. 163.3187 to delineate the boundaries of the urban infill and redevelopment area within the future land use element of its comprehensive plan pursuant to its adopted urban infill and redevelopment plan. The state land planning agency shall review the boundary delineation of the urban infill and redevelopment area in the future land use element under s. 163.3184. However, an urban infill and redevelopment plan adopted by a local government is not subject to review for compliance as defined by s. 163.3184(1)(b), and the local government is not required to adopt the plan as a comprehensive plan amendment. An amendment to the local comprehensive plan to designate an urban infill and redevelopment area is exempt from the twice-a-year amendment limitation of s. 163.3187.
(5) After the preparation of an urban infill and redevelopment plan or designation of an existing plan, the local government shall adopt the plan by ordinance. Notice for the public hearing on the ordinance must be in the form established in s. 166.041(3)(c)2. for municipalities, and s. 125.66(4)(b)2. for counties.
(6) (a) In order to continue to be eligible for the economic and regulatory incentives granted with respect to an urban infill and redevelopment area, the local government must demonstrate during the evaluation, assessment, and review of its comprehensive plan required pursuant to s. 163.3191, that within designated urban infill and redevelopment areas, the amount of combined annual residential, commercial, and institutional development has increased by at least 10 percent.
(b) If the local government fails to implement the urban infill and redevelopment plan in accordance with the deadlines set forth in the plan, the Department of Community Affairs may seek to rescind the economic and regulatory incentives granted to the urban infill and redevelopment area, subject to the provisions of chapter 120. The action to rescind may be initiated 90 days after issuing a written letter of warning to the local government.
¹Note.--Section 212.055 authorizes imposition of local option surtaxes; s. 212.054 provides for the administration of such surtaxes when authorized by s. 212.055.

History.--s. 1, ch. 99-378; s. 18, ch. 2000-317.