A question for my loyal readers: Why did the Madison City Commission include the Schaefer Plaza in the tax increment district it created last week? A glance at the map (agenda packet, p. 64) and the legal description appears to indicate that the "blighted" area includes the very well-established strip mall and Second Street Diner. Don't those properties have all the infrastructure they need? Isn't all the development planned for the mostly vacant lots out back, where new houses and duplexes will soon spring like rose blossoms?
Surely the city has a good reason for including commercial properties in a TID intended for residential development. Anyone with answers is welcome to comment here.
I can't speak to this situation but sometimes TIF districts are set up larger then the actual area to increase the funds generated. I don't understand this situation because the land is already improved with a strip mall and the increase in taxes has already ocured and would not help the TIF.
ReplyDeleteAdding in Commercial Properties to a TIF district gives it a different dimension, more favorable treatment according to what attorney Bill Ellingson said on the City Meeting video. What that means, I don't know. A person should call the guy and ask him. I know the school district is worried about losing tax dollars because it is commercial rather than residential.
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