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CR 2000-087 Revision Of Tax Increment Policy Re: Tax Abatement . . e CITY Of: ~ June 1, 2000 HOPKINS Council Report 2000-87 REVISION OF TAX INCREMENT POLICY RE: TAX ABATEMENT Pro Dosed Action Staff recommends approval ofthe following motion: Adopt Resolution 2000-33. revising the City of Hopkins Tax Increment policy to include language concerning tax abatement. Overview Recently staff and the City Council/HRA have had discussions about the possible use of tax abatement. The immediate project being discussed is the SuperValu perishable warehouse expanSiOn. The abatement process was approved by the state legislature in 1997. It allows for the city and potentially the county and school district to return their proportional share of all or a portion of a building's property taxes to an owner or a developer. The legislature in their most recent session revised the law to allow for abatement for up to 15 years if less than all three taxing jurisdictions agree to the abatement. If all three agree to the abatement, the maximum is 10 years. Sid Inman of Ehlers & Associates has recommended that prior to use of the abatement process, the City should adopt a tax abatement policy. Staff has drafted a revision of the City's existing tax increment policy to incorporate language concerning tax abatement. This document has been reviewed by Bob Deike of Bradley & Deike, Sid Inman of Ehlers & Associates, and the City Attorney's office. This item has previously been reviewed by the Council at a work session. Based on comments provided, changes have been made to the policy. As has been previously detailed, this is only a policy; therefore, the CouncillHRA has the ability to deviate from what is detailed if it is determined necessary and appropriate. Issues to Consider . What is the purpose of adopting a tax abatement policy? . What changes have been made to the policy? SUDDortin2: Documents . Resolution 2000-33 . Tax Increment & Tax Abatement Policy ~ · 7ma~ion ~'jce~ng tax abatement V," I d ., /\ ..--"1" /,1 :""~L'--.. /'~..:~...~?/;> -, Jim K,krrigan I . Plamjl.iq,g & Economic Deve)6pment Director 1...../ . e . Council Report 2000-87, June 1, 2000 - Page 2 Issues to Consider · What is the purpose of adopting a tax abatement policy? This policy will act as a guideline for the CouncillHRA to use in considering any requests for tax abatement. The policy in no way obligates the City to provide abatement assistance. Section 1.01 of the policy specifically states that liThe City, in adopting this policy, retains the sole and absolute discretion to grant or deny any request for any reason. II The eligible uses and project approval and evaluation criteria presently related to tax increment requests would apply to the use of tax abatement. . What changes have been made to the policy? · Discussion oftax abatement has been moved to the first page of the policy, Section 3. · Item 3.03 establishes minimum thresholds for the size of a project that would be considered for tax abatement. . The industrial minimum is comparable to the office/warehouse project construction by R. L. Johnson directly south of Wendy's on 11th Avenue. . As a comparison for a retail project, the movie theater built by the Beard Group is 26,000 square feet. (The Glenrose Floral project and the Benshoof office building would be substantially below the 25,000 square feet threshold.) . The CitiGables condominiums contain 42 units. · Section 3.04 has been added concerning approvals. · Sec. 4.01 B has been revised to better reflect housing-related uses as detailed in the Comprehensive Plan. Alternatives The Council/HRA has the following alternatives regarding this matter: 1. Approve the action as recommended by staff. 2. Continue the item for additional information. From a timing perspective, there is the ability to make changes and return to the CouncillHRA at a future date. Approve with changes. Do not adopt a policy for the use of tax abatement. With this action the Council/HRA needs to inform staff whether they are interested in using tax abatement as a financial tool on future projects. 3. 4. . e . CITY OF HOPKINS HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA RESOLUTION 2000-033 RESOLUTION REVISING TAX INCREMENT POLICY TO INCLUDE TAX ABATEMENT WHEREAS, the City of Hopkins, by Resolution 88-72, adopted a tax increment policy; WHEREAS, Minnesota Statute, Section 469.1812 to 469.1815, allows governing bodies of Minnesota political subdivisions to grant abatements of tax imposed by political subdivisions on a parcel of property or defer the payments of taxes and abate the interest and penalty that otherwise would apply~ WHEREAS, the City of Hopkins desires to utilize property tax abatement from time to time to assist development/redevelopment projects; WHEREAS, the City of Hopkins desires to establish specific criteria with which to review requests for the use of property tax abatement. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City of Hopkins that the document enti- tled "City of Hopkins Tax Increment Policy" be revised to incorporate language for the review of a request for property tax abatement. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the City of Hopkins that staff of the City of Hopkins is authorized to revise such plan from time to time to ensure compliance with legislative changes. Adopted this day of May 2000. Eugene 1. Maxwell, Mayor ATTEST: Terry Obermaier, City Clerk . . . CITY OF HOPKINS TAX INCREMENT AND TAX ABATEMENT POLICY 1. PURPOSE 1.01 The purpose of this policy is to establish the City's position as relates to the use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) or Tax Abatement (Abatement) for private development. This policy shall be used as a guide in processing and reviewing applications requesting TIP or Abatement assistance. The City, in adopting this policy, retains the sole and absolute discretion to grant or deny any request for any reason. 1.02 The City shall have the option of amending or waiving sections of this policy when determined necessary Of appropriate. 1.03 The term "City" as used in this policy shall include both the City of Hopkins and the Housing & Redevelopment Authority In and For the City of Hopkins (lIRA). 1.04 Administration of this policy shall be the responsibility of the lIRA. 2. STATUTORY LIMITATIONS 2.01 Requests must comply with Minnesota Statutes 469.174-469.1791, the Minnesota Tax Increment Financing Act. Tax Abatement requests must comply with Minnesota Statutes 469.1812-469.1815. All requests shall comply with Minnesota Statutes 116 1. 993 and 1161. 994. 3. TAX ABATEMENT 3.01 For properties located within a tax increment district, no abatement shall be provided until the district is decertified. 3.02 The abatement of taxes shall be only for new taxes generated from the project. 3.03 Requests for abatement shall be used for large scale development or redevelopment projects that meet the following minimums: Industrial- 200,000 square feet CommerciaIJRetail - 25,000 square feet Residential - 40 units, owner occupied. Abatements shall not be provided for rental housing projects. 3.04 Each project shall be reviewed on an individual basis. Prior approval of a similar project for abatement shall not establish a precedent for future approval. 3.05 The requirements for eligible use and project approval and evaluation criteria as detailed within this policy shall govern all requests for property tax abatement, and assistance for projects not meeting those requirements will normally be denied. The . . . 4. 4.01 City recognizes that projects may be proposed that will result in substantial identifiable benefits to the City and the public but which do not meet the threshold requirements of the Abatement Policy; therefore, the City in its discretion may deviate from the above requirements if it determines that the applicant for assistance has demonstrated that the benefits that will be realized as a result of the project justify the City's deviation from this policy. ELIGmLE USES As a matter of adopted policy, the City of Hopkins will consider using TIF or Abatement to assist private developments only in those circumstances in which the proposed private projects meet one or more of the following uses. A To redevelop blighted or underutilized areas of the community. B. To meet the following housing-related uses. 1. To preserve a variety of single family housing ownership alternatives and housing choices. 2. To promote affordable housing for the elderly. 3. To promote neighborhood stabilization and revitalization by the removal of blight and the upgrading in existing housing stock in residential areas. C. To remove blight and encourage redevelopment in the commercial and industrial areas of the City in order to encourage high levels of property maintenance and private reinvestment in those areas. D. To increase the tax base of the City in order to ensure the long-term ability of the City to provide adequate services for its residents while lessening the reliance on residential property tax. E. To retain local jobs, increase the local job base, and provide diversity in that job base. F. To increase the local business and industrial market potential of the City of Hopkins. G. To provide adequate short-term business and customer parking and resident parking. H. To encourage additional unsubsidized private development in the area, either directly or through secondary "spin-afT" development. I. To offset increased costs of redevelopment over and above those costs that a developer would incur in normal urban and suburban development. J. To accelerate the development process and achieve development on sites which would not be developed without this assistance. . . . K. To meet other uses of public policy, as adopted by the Council from time to time, including promotion of quality urban design, quality architectural design, energy conservation, decreasing the capital and operating costs of local government, etc. L. Finance or provide public infrastructure as part of a development/redevelopment project. M. In addition to the above Abatement, may also be used to help provide access to services for residents. 5. PROJECT APPROVAL CRITERIA 5.01 In addition to complying with all statutory requirements, projects requesting TIF or Abatement assistance should meet the following minimum approval criteria. However, it should not be presumed that a project meeting these criteria will automatically be approved. A. The TIF or Abatement assistance shall be provided within applicable state legislative restrictions, debt limit guidelines, and other appropriate financial requirements and policies. B. The project should meet one or more of the above eligible uses. C. The project must be in accord with the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinances, or required changes to the Plan and Ordinances must be under active consideration by the City at the time of approval. D. TIF or Abatement assistance will not be provided to projects that have the financial feasibility to proceed without public financial assistance. In effect, assistance will not be provided solely to broaden a developer's profit margins on a project. Prior to consideration of a TIF or Abatement assistance request, the City may undertake an independent financial evaluation or feasibility study of the project to help ensure that the request for assistance is valid. E. Prior to approval of a TIF or Abatement application, the developer shall provide any required market and financial feasibility studies, appraisals, soil boring, information in the developer's possesion or provided to private lenders for the project, and other information or data that the City or its financial consultants may require in order to proceed with an independent evaluation. F. To ensure cash flows are adequate, projects receiving TIF or Abatement assistance should normally have a 1.2:1 debt service coverage ratio (a ratio of project revenues projected to be available to funds required for debt service). G. The developer should provide adequate financial guarantees to ensure the repayment of the TIF or Abatement subsidy. These may include, but are not limited to: assessment agreements, letters of credit, etc. . . . H. Any developer requesting TIP or Abatement assistance should be able to demonstrate past successful general development capability as well as specific capability in the type and size of development proposed. I. The developer should retain ownership of the project at least long enough to complete it, to stabilize its occupancy, to establish the project management, and to initiate repayment of TIP or Abatement. 1. The level of TIP funding should be reduced to the lowest possible level by maximizing the use of private debt and equity financing first, and then using other funding sources or income producing vehicles that can be structured into the project financing, prior to using additional TIF or Abatement assistance funding. K. The developer shall be responsible to pay any legal or consultant fees incurred by the City in reviewing applications for TIF or abatement. L. Developers receiving TIP or abatement assistance shall meet the requirements of the City's approved Business Subsidy Criteria. 6. EV ALVA TION CRITERIA 6.01 All projects will be evaluated on the following criteria for comparison with other proposed projects reviewed by the City, and for comparison with other subsidy standards (where appropriate). It is realized that changes in local markets and costs of construction and interest rates may cause changes in the amount of public assistance that a given project may require at any given time. 6.02 Some criteria, by their very nature, must remain subjective. However, wherever possible, benchmark criteria have been established for review purposes. The fact that a given proposal meets one or more benchmark criteria does not mean that it is entitled to funding under this policy, but rather that the City is in a position to proceed with evaluations of (and comparisons between) various TIP or Abatement proposals, using uniform standards whenever possible. 6.03 Following are the evaluation criteria that will be used by the City of Hopkins for proposals requesting TIP or Abatement assistance. A. Proposals should optimize the private development potential of a site. B. Proposals should obtain the highest possible private-to-public financial investment ratio. The Council establishes a benchmark ratio of three parts private to one part public funding for industrial projects. Housing and retail/commercial projects shall be reviewed on an individual basis. C. Proposals should create the highest feasible number of new jobs on the site. Property shall meet the City of Hopkins Business Subsidy Criteria. . D. Proposals should create the highest possible ratio of property taxes paid before and after redevelopment. Given the different assessment circumstances in the City, this ratio will vary widely. However, under normal circumstances, the Council will expect at least a 1:2 ratio of taxes paid before and after redevelopment. E. Proposals should normally not be used to support speculative industrial, commercial, and office projects. In general, speculative projects are defined as those projects which have letters of intent or pre-leasing for less than 50 percent of the space available for lease. F. Proposals will be reviewed to determine the feasibility to provide the City with equity participation in new developments (through a share of the profits), or to treat the TIP assistance as a second mortgage with fixed payments. G. Proposals involving displacement of low and moderate income residents should give specific attention to the re-housing needs of those residents. Adequate solutions to these re-housing needs will be required as a matter of public policy. H. Proposals will normally not be used in a project that involves an excessive land and/or property price. This will normally be where the acquisition price is more than 10 percent in excess of market value. . I. TIP or Abatement will not be used when the developer's qualifications, in the judgment of the City, are unacceptable due to past or present performance and qualifications relating to: completion of projects, general financial responsibility and experience and/or bankruptcy, or other problems or issues considered relevant by the City. 1 A developer using TIP or Abatement will need to provide a financial guarantee for the repayment of the assistance within the constraints of existing tax law. K. TIP or Abatement will not be used to support projects that place demands on City services, or other capital or operating expenditures, that exceed the average City expenditures for similar facilities. Consideration will be given to the total public costs that are required to support the project, induding off-site facilities costs that are required. L. TIP or Abatement will not normally be used for projects that would generate significant environmental problems in the opinion of the local, state, or federal governments. M. TIP or Abatement will not be used when the schedule for development has exceeded the schedule established in the redevelopment agreement, and where the City has not agreed to extensions of that schedule. . N. TIP or Abatement funding should not be provided to those projects that fail to meet good public policy criteria as determined by the Council, including: poor project quality; projects that are not in accord with the Comprehensive Plan, . . . lldf~ zoning, redevelopment plans, and City policies~ projects that provide no significant improvement to surrounding land uses, the neighborhood, and/or the City; projects that do not provide a significant increase in tax base; projects that do not have significant new, or retained, employment; projects that do not meet financial feasibility criteria established by the City; and projects that do not provide the highest and best desired use for the property. O. All TIF projects will need to meet the "but for" test. TIP will not be used unless the need for the City.s economic participation is such that without that assistance the project would not be financially feasible. P. TIP will not be used in projects that would give a significant competitive financial advantage over similar projects in the City due to the use of tax increment subsidies. . . . "'IL.:.- ,,--~"';'" T __ CIty of Hopkins April 6. 2000 MINNESOfA PROPERTY fAX ABAffCMENf PROGRAM\. ,,- ';:.~.....- --~:~--:":'I.. In the 1997 legislative session, Representative Ron Abrams from Minm:tonka authored legislation to allow individual political subdivIsions (county, city, tm-vn, or school district) to return their proportional share of all ora portion ofa buildings property taxes (see H.F. 2163, Laws of Minnesota, Article 2, Sections 45-48, or Minnesma Statutes, Section 469.1 812 to 469.1815) 4.batemcnts were designed to give each jurisdiction a vOIce in economIC and redevelopment efforts, limit the state' 5 financial liability through the school finance system. and enable new husiness retention efforts. Complications arose in the mechanics ofabatcments and, marc importantly, from the reintroduction oflevy Ilmlts for taxes payable in 1998 and 1999. The 199.1 Legislature passed legislation to exempt these abatements from the levy lim its and also allow bonds to be issued as a means to finance the development The 1999 Legislature, in an effort to make abatement a more viable cconom ic development tool, has further expanded the scope of abatement authority. The nuts and bolts of the abatement program are as follows. -+ The abatement is a tax rebate rather than an exemption from paying taxes. -t The taxpayer pay$ taXeS on the abated property in the same manner it would if the taxes were not being abated. The county pays the abatement to the general fund of the political subdivision without identifying the amount of the abatement. ... The 1999 Legislature expanded the meaningoftheterm abatement to encompass agreements to defer property taxes without interest or penalties. The city. town, county or school district can levy taxes as usual, dder payments for up to ten years, impose a seT repayment schedule, and abate the penalties and interest. -+ Towns may take action on tax abatement only at their annual meeting. The 1999 Legislature gave (he to\\'n board the power to approve the abatement resolution at other times. but, unfortunately, lhe new legislation did not change the definition of "goveroing body." For towns. the governing body remains the annual meeting. and several key abatemenl provisions require approval of the governing body. . ..,. As of May 26, J 999, a ~chool district may abate its entire tax capacity based levy (previously could only abate 60% to 75%). A school district may not abate markct value based levies. School boards, alsoas of May 26, 1999, may now grant abatements torthe entirctenn of the abatement (previously they could only approve the abatement one year at a time). School districts may levy an additional property tax to pay for their abatements. The school district will not lose net revenue by using tOt: program. -+ The maximum tenn of the abatcmenr is ten years and the maximum that an entity can abatc is rhe greater of $100,000 per year or 5% of Ihe t:ntlty's levy. -t Taxes payable from the market value of a new or existing building, and, as of May 26, 1999, the value of land and any fiscal disparities contributions (for metro and taconite credjt areas only) may be abated. The maximum annual abatement equaLs the political subdivision's local tax rate multiplied by the nct tax capacity of the parcel. ... Abatements are authorized to finance public infrastructure, whether or not the benefitted infrastructure is on or adjacent to the parcel for which the tax is abated The owner of a parcel for which taxes are abated need not consent. Thus, a political subdivision may approve an abatement for certain parcels and use the retained taxes to finance public improvement projects. ... The notification requirements include a public hearing Wilh a J 0 to 30 day publication notice. . .... The findings required by a councilor board Include general statements of tax base, preservation, employment, public facilities, blight, or accesS to services. ... G.O. Abatement Bonds can be issued withoUT affecting lIet debt and can be issued without a referendum under certain conditions. ... Abatemcnts cannot be used in concert with tax. increment financing. Another issue which complicates the abatement program is the specific authority of a governmental body to pledge its abatements to the debt of another governmentiil entity_ ifrhe debt is not a G.O. Abatement Bond. Many attorneys differ on the interpretations of the pledges allowed and what exactly constitutes a G.O. Abatement Bond. We recommend that abatement always be util ized in conjunction with a development agreement that clearly spells out the developer"s responsibilities with respect to improvements, as well asjob and wage goals. Abatement is a "business subsidy" and as sllch is subject to :Vlinncsota Statutes S I 16J.993 - S 1161.995_ ...... .....