14-168-301. Definitions.

14-168-301. Definitions. As used in this subchapter: (1) “Applicable ad valorem rate” means the total ad valorem rate less the debt service ad valorem rate; (2) “Base value” means the assessed value of all real property within a redevelopment district subject to ad valorem taxation, as of the most recent assessment preceding the effective date of the ordinance approving the project plan of the redevelopment district; (3)(A) “Blighted area” means an area in which the structures, buildings, or improvements, by reason of dilapidation, deterioration, age or obsolescence, inadequate provision for access, ventilation, light, air, sanitation, or open spaces, high density of population, and overcrowding or the existence of conditions which endanger life or property, are detrimental to the public health, safety, morals, or welfare. (B) “Blighted area” includes any area which, by reason of the presence of a substantial number of substandard, slum, deteriorated or deteriorating structures, predominance of defective or inadequate street layout, faulty lot layout in relation to size, adequacy, accessibility, or usefulness, unsanitary or unsafe conditions, deterioration of site or other improvements, diversity of ownership, tax on special assessment delinquency exceeding the fair value of the land, defective or unusual conditions of title, or the existence of conditions which endanger life or property by fire and other causes, or any combination of such factors, substantially impairs or arrests the sound growth of a city, retards the provision of housing accommodations, or constitutes an economic or social liability and is a menace to the public health, safety, morals, or welfare in its present condition and use, or any area which is predominantly open and which because of lack of accessibility, obsolete platting, diversity of ownership, deterioration of structures or of site improvements, or otherwise, substantially impairs or arrests the sound growth of the community; (4) “Capital improvements of a public nature” has the same meaning as in § 14-164-303(2); (5) “Current value” means the assessed value of all real property within a redevelopment district subject to ad valorem taxation, as of the most recent assessment after the formation of the redevelopment district; (6) “Debt service ad valorem rate” means that portion of the total ad valorem rate that, as of the effective date of the creation of the redevelopment district, is pledged to the payment of debt service on bonds issued by any taxing unit in which all or any part of the redevelopment district is located; (7)(A) “Incremental value” for any redevelopment district, means the difference between the base value and the current value. (B) The incremental value will be positive if the current value exceeds the base value, and the incremental value will be negative if the current value is less than the base value; (8) “Local governing body” means the city council, city board of directors, county quorum court, or any other legislative body governing a local government in the State of Arkansas; (9) “Local government” means any city or county in the State of Arkansas; (10)(A) “Project costs” means expenditures made in preparation of the project plan and made, or estimated to be made, or monetary obligations incurred, or estimated to be incurred, by the local government, which are listed in the project plan as costs of public works or improvements benefiting a redevelopment project district, plus any costs incidental thereto. (B) Project costs include, but are not limited to: (i) Capital costs, including, but not limited to, the actual costs of the construction of public works or improvements, new buildings, structures, and fixtures, the demolition, alteration, remodeling, repair, or reconstruction of existing buildings, structures, and fixtures, environmental remediation, parking and landscaping, the acquisition of equipment, and site clearing, grading, and preparation; (ii) Financing costs, including, but not limited to, all interest paid to holders of evidences of indebtedness issued to pay for project costs, all costs of issuance, and any redemption premiums, credit enhancement, or other related costs; (iii) Real property assembly costs, meaning any deficit incurred resulting from the sale or lease as lessor by the local government of real or personal property within a redevelopment district for consideration which is less than its cost to the local government; (iv) Professional service costs, including, but not limited to, those costs incurred for architectural, planning, engineering, and legal advice and services; (v) Imputed administrative costs, including, but not limited to, reasonable charges for the time spent by local government employees in connection with the implementation of a project plan; (vi) Relocation costs, including, but not limited to, those relocation payments made following condemnation and job training and retraining; (vii) Organizational costs, including, but not limited to, the costs of conducting environmental impact and other studies and the costs of informing the public with respect to the creation of redevelopment project areas and the implementation of project plans; (viii) The amount of any contributions made in connection with the implementation of the project plan; (ix) Payments made, in the discretion of the local governing body, which are found to be necessary or convenient to the creation of redevelopment areas or the implementation of project plans; and (x) That portion of costs related to the construction of environmental protection devices, storm or sanitary sewer lines, water lines, amenities, federal or state highways, or city or county streets or the rebuilding or expansion of highways or streets, the construction, alteration, rebuilding, or expansion of which is necessitated by the project plan for a district, whether or not the construction, alteration, rebuilding, or expansion is within the area; (11) “Project plan” means the plan which shall be adopted by a local governing body for a redevelopment project as described in § 14-168-306; (12) “Real property” means all lands, including improvements and fixtures on them and property of any nature appurtenant to them or used in connection with them and every estate, interest, and right, legal or equitable, in them, including terms for years and liens by way of judgment, mortgage, or otherwise, and the indebtedness secured by the liens; (13) “Redevelopment district” means a contiguous geographic area within a city or county in which a redevelopment project will be undertaken, as defined and created by ordinance of the local governing body; (14)(A) “Redevelopment project” means an undertaking for eliminating or preventing the development or spread of slums or deteriorated, deteriorating, or blighted areas, for discouraging the loss of commerce, industry, or employment, or for increasing employment, or any combination thereof. (B) A redevelopment project may include one (1) or more of the following: (i) The acquisition of land and improvements, if any, within the redevelopment district and clearance of the land so acquired; (ii) The development, redevelopment, revitalization, or conservation of the project area whenever necessary to provide land for needed public facilities, public housing, or industrial or commercial development or revitalization, to eliminate unhealthful, unsanitary, or unsafe conditions, to lessen density, mitigate or eliminate traffic congestion, reduce traffic hazards, eliminate obsolete or other uses detrimental to the public welfare, or otherwise remove or prevent the spread of blight or deterioration; (iii) The financial or other assistance in the relocation of persons and organizations displaced as a result of carrying out the redevelopment project and other improvements necessary for carrying out the project plan, together with such site improvements as are necessary for the preparation of any sites and making any land or improvements acquired in the project area available by sale or by lease for public housing or for development, redevelopment, or rehabilitation by private enterprise for commercial or industrial uses in accordance with the plan; (iv) The construction of capital improvements within a redevelopment district designed to alleviate deteriorating conditions or a blighted area or designed to increase or enhance the development of commerce, industry, or housing within the redevelopment district; or (v) Any other projects the local governing body deems appropriate to carry out the purposes of this subchapter; (15) “Special fund” means a separate fund for a redevelopment district established by the local government into which all tax increment revenues and other pledged revenues are deposited and from which all project costs are paid; (16) “Tax increment” means the incremental value of a redevelopment district multiplied by the applicable ad valorem rate; (17) “Taxing unit” means the State of Arkansas and any city, county, or school district; and (18)(A) “Total ad valorem rate” means the total millage rate of all state, county, city, school, or other property taxes levied on all taxable property within a redevelopment district in a year. (B) The total ad valorem rate shall not include any: (i) Increases in the total millage rate occurring after the effective date of the creation of the redevelopment district if the additional millage is pledged for repayment of a specific bond or note issue; (ii) Property taxes levied for libraries under Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 30, or Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 38; (iii) Property taxes levied for a fireman's relief and pension fund or policeman's relief and pension fund of any municipality or county; or (iv) Property taxes levied for any hospital owned and operated by a county.