Exploiting parts of a law meant to help struggling communities, Osceola County commissioners will vote Monday on a plan that will steer millions to a housing development by The Tavistock Group.
After reading the article by Natalia Jaramillo of the Orlando Sentinel (mentioned in this article), the "special taxing district" in this article is not a Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), created by the Florida Redevelopment Act of 1969. It is a Community Development District (CDD), which, unlike a CRA, is a "special taxing district", that, unlike CRAs, spends tax dollars to make improvements to the district it overlays. Please learn more about CDDs at https://www.cfmcdd.org/questions/.
To be honest, CRAs have their issues. But it is because of poorly written articles like this that CRAs find themselves being targeted by the Florida Legislature. CRAs do address slum and blighted areas, housing, and crime. Articles like this do not help their cause. Consider correcting or removing the article, thank you.
Hey there. Thanks for comment. But your original post was actually the correct one: This is a tax-increment financing district created under the Community Redevelopment Act. Osceola County commissioners commissioned the required Finding of Necessity Study and approved the required resolution declaring slum and blight during their meeting last week. Both documents are linked in the story.
But the main point of your original post seems to have been that Osceola County CAN do this. Which is an argument that nobody is having.
My point is that Osceola County SHOULD NOT do this. And that the use of CRAs and tax-increment financing districts have been bastardized far beyond their original intent.
I do appreciate the depth of your comments, though. Learning the case law in this area is really helpful. Thank you!
Hi, thanks for the response, After reading ORDINANCE 2022-129, this is a locally created Special Tax Increment District (TID), not a community redevelopment agency (CRA), with the ability to use Tax Increment (as defined in the ordinance), not Increment Revenue (as defined in FS 163 Part III). There is no mention of FS 163 Part III in the ordinance, or the creation of a CRA, Board, Redevelopment Plan, or Redevelopment Trust Fund.
I respect your opinion on the county's action, and appreciate your willingness to speak openly to it, but, trust me, just check your facts. This is not a CRA.
What statutory authority authorizes a county to create a tax-increment district to address conditions of slum and blight?
What statutory authority requires a county to conduct a finding of necessity documenting conditions of slum and blight before the tax-increment district?
These are genuine questions, btw. I didn't call it a CRA in the story, because there was no mention of a Community Redevelopment Agency. But the whole process follows the steps of the Community Redevelopment Act exactly -- and, as far as I'm aware, that's the only explicit TIF authority in Florida Statutes (though you might be able to correct me on that.)
Who on the county commission is getting the inevitable kickback on this deal?
Clever of them to push this through when everybody is deep into the holidays and family and has no energy to attend to this bullshit!
Does no one care that $ is needed to subsidize housing for the people who are presently getting their rents hiked which is displacing them with no where to go?
This kind of ‘development I can guarantee is not helping anyone who needs the help...only the developers.
Same kind of BS up here in North Florida where so many people are now homeless as a result!
It's all 'BS' Commissioners do what they want for the developers with no concern for the residents. The residents have spoke out against the massive over growth happening all at once with no help in congestion but, they don't care. I have 1 question for all Osceola/Kissimmee/St Cloud Commissioners .... WHEN ??
WHEN will it be enough ??
WHEN will you put residents first over the developers ??
WHEN will you actually listen to the residents ??
WHEN will you try to fix the congestion problem ??
WHEN will you actually care ??
WHEN will you stop lying and making excuses ??
WHEN will the residents stop paying for what the developers are doing to this county (ie 1% tax increase not a penny) ??
After reading the article by Natalia Jaramillo of the Orlando Sentinel (mentioned in this article), the "special taxing district" in this article is not a Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), created by the Florida Redevelopment Act of 1969. It is a Community Development District (CDD), which, unlike a CRA, is a "special taxing district", that, unlike CRAs, spends tax dollars to make improvements to the district it overlays. Please learn more about CDDs at https://www.cfmcdd.org/questions/.
To be honest, CRAs have their issues. But it is because of poorly written articles like this that CRAs find themselves being targeted by the Florida Legislature. CRAs do address slum and blighted areas, housing, and crime. Articles like this do not help their cause. Consider correcting or removing the article, thank you.
Hey there. Thanks for comment. But your original post was actually the correct one: This is a tax-increment financing district created under the Community Redevelopment Act. Osceola County commissioners commissioned the required Finding of Necessity Study and approved the required resolution declaring slum and blight during their meeting last week. Both documents are linked in the story.
But the main point of your original post seems to have been that Osceola County CAN do this. Which is an argument that nobody is having.
My point is that Osceola County SHOULD NOT do this. And that the use of CRAs and tax-increment financing districts have been bastardized far beyond their original intent.
I do appreciate the depth of your comments, though. Learning the case law in this area is really helpful. Thank you!
Hi, thanks for the response, After reading ORDINANCE 2022-129, this is a locally created Special Tax Increment District (TID), not a community redevelopment agency (CRA), with the ability to use Tax Increment (as defined in the ordinance), not Increment Revenue (as defined in FS 163 Part III). There is no mention of FS 163 Part III in the ordinance, or the creation of a CRA, Board, Redevelopment Plan, or Redevelopment Trust Fund.
I respect your opinion on the county's action, and appreciate your willingness to speak openly to it, but, trust me, just check your facts. This is not a CRA.
Not also that the Finding of Necessity study explicitly refers to it as a "Redevelopment Area."
What statutory authority authorizes a county to create a tax-increment district to address conditions of slum and blight?
What statutory authority requires a county to conduct a finding of necessity documenting conditions of slum and blight before the tax-increment district?
These are genuine questions, btw. I didn't call it a CRA in the story, because there was no mention of a Community Redevelopment Agency. But the whole process follows the steps of the Community Redevelopment Act exactly -- and, as far as I'm aware, that's the only explicit TIF authority in Florida Statutes (though you might be able to correct me on that.)
Also -- there is a trust fund. It is created in this resolution: https://docs.osceola.org/OnBaseAgendaOnline/Documents/ViewDocument/Attachment_%20Ordinance%202022-129%20Northeast%20Improvement%20Area%20Trust%20Fund%20(12-6-2022)%20f.pdf?meetingId=1138&documentType=Agenda&itemId=17301&publishId=17931&isSection=false
That totally sucks!
Who on the county commission is getting the inevitable kickback on this deal?
Clever of them to push this through when everybody is deep into the holidays and family and has no energy to attend to this bullshit!
Does no one care that $ is needed to subsidize housing for the people who are presently getting their rents hiked which is displacing them with no where to go?
This kind of ‘development I can guarantee is not helping anyone who needs the help...only the developers.
Same kind of BS up here in North Florida where so many people are now homeless as a result!
It's all 'BS' Commissioners do what they want for the developers with no concern for the residents. The residents have spoke out against the massive over growth happening all at once with no help in congestion but, they don't care. I have 1 question for all Osceola/Kissimmee/St Cloud Commissioners .... WHEN ??
WHEN will it be enough ??
WHEN will you put residents first over the developers ??
WHEN will you actually listen to the residents ??
WHEN will you try to fix the congestion problem ??
WHEN will you actually care ??
WHEN will you stop lying and making excuses ??
WHEN will the residents stop paying for what the developers are doing to this county (ie 1% tax increase not a penny) ??
WHEN will you enact Home Rule Charter ??
So many more WHEN's ??