Iowa Administrative Code
Agency 261 - Economic Development Authority
Part X - Rural Housing Needs Assessment Grant Program
Chapter 200 - Reinvestment Districts Program
Rule 261-200.5 - Program Eligibility and Application Requirements
Universal Citation: IA Admin Code 261-200.5
Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 6, September 18, 2024
To be eligible for benefits under the program, an applicant shall meet all of the following requirements:
(1) Area suitable for development. An applicant must be a municipality and must have an area suitable for development within the boundaries of the municipality, or, in the case of a joint board, the combined boundaries of the incorporated cities or counties that established or designated the joint board, that has been proposed for designation as a reinvestment district under the program. Only areas that meet the following requirements will be approved for designation as a reinvestment district:
a. The area must
consist only of parcels of real property that the governing body of the
municipality determines will be directly and substantially benefited by
development in the proposed district. In order to establish that this criterion
is met, a municipality should submit information such as an estimate of the
expected increase in valuation or other data that lends itself to a
quantitative assessment of the extent to which the real property will
benefit.
b. The area must be in
whole or in part either an economic development enterprise zone designated
under 2014 Iowa Code chapter 15E, division XVIII, immediately prior to July 1,
2014, or an urban renewal area established pursuant to Iowa Code chapter 403.
In order to establish that this criterion is met, a municipality should submit
maps of the proposed area as well as maps of the existing enterprise zone or
urban renewal area. A municipality should also submit copies of the local
ordinance or resolution establishing the enterprise zone or the urban renewal
area.
c. For districts approved
before July 1,2018, the area must consist of contiguous parcels and must not
exceed 25 acres in total. For districts approved after July 1,2020, the area
must consist of contiguous parcels and must not exceed 75 acres in total. For
purposes of this subrule, "contiguous" means parcels that are physically
connected. Parcels connected by streets or other rights-of-way will be
considered physically connected for purposes of this rule. In designating an
area that includes a right-of-way, an applicant may include an area that is
less than the full width of the right-of-way, but the applicant shall not
include less than 60 feet of the right-of-way's width.
d. For a municipality that is a city or for a
city that has established or designated a joint board, the area must not
include the entire incorporated area of the city.
e. The area must not be located in whole or
in part within another district established under this chapter.
(2) Proposed district plan. An applicant must submit a proposed district plan. A proposed district plan must be approved by resolution of the governing body of the municipality and must state the governing body's intent to establish a district. A copy of this resolution should be submitted with the proposed district plan. The proposed district plan must also include all of the following:
a. A finding by the governing body
that the area in the proposed district is an area suitable for development.
This finding should be supported by the information required under subrule
200.5(1).
b. A legal description of
the real estate forming the boundaries of the area to be included in the
proposed district along with a map depicting the existing parcels of real
estate located in the proposed district.
c. A list of the names and addresses of the
owners of record of the parcels to be included in the proposed district. If, at
the time an application is submitted, the parcels are not yet acquired or one
or more parcels within the district are under consideration for a project, then
the names and addresses of the owners of record of all parcels under
consideration shall be submitted with the understanding that final board
approval shall be contingent upon all parcels' being acquired and identified by
address prior to final board approval and establishment of the commencement
date.
d. A list of all projects
proposed to be undertaken within the district, a detailed description of those
projects, and a project plan for each proposed project. Each project plan shall
clearly state the estimated cost of the proposed project, the anticipated
funding sources for the proposed project, the amount of anticipated funding
from each such source, and the amount and type of debt, if any, to be incurred
by the municipality to fund the proposed project, and shall include a proposed
project feasibility study conducted by an independent professional with
expertise in economic development and public finance. The project plan for the
project that proposes the largest amount of capital investment among all
proposed projects within the district shall include an estimate of the date
that construction of the project will be completed and of the date that
operations will begin at the project. The feasibility study shall include
projections and analysis of all of the following:
(1) The amount of gross revenues expected to
be collected in the district as a result of the proposed project for each year
that the district is in existence.
(2) A detailed explanation of the manner and
extent to which the proposed project will contribute to the economic
development of the state and the municipality, including an analysis of the
proposed project's economic impact. The analysis shall include the same
components and be conducted in the same manner as the economic impact study
required under paragraph"e" of this subrule.
(3) An estimate of the number of visitors or
customers the proposed project will generate during each year that the district
exists.
(4) A description of the
unique characteristics of the proposed project. The description should include
an explanation of why the unique characteristics of the proposed project cause
the project to be of a unique nature, within the meaning of that term as it is
defined in rule 261-200.2 (15 J).
e. An economic impact study for
the proposed district conducted by an independent economist retained by the
municipality. The economic impact study shall, at a minimum, do all of the
following:
(1) Contain a detailed analysis of
the financial benefit of the proposed district to the economy of the state and
the municipality.
(2) Identify one
or more projected market areas in which the district can reasonably be expected
to have a substantial economic impact.
(3) Assess the fiscal and financial impact of
the proposed district on businesses or on other economic development projects
within the projected market area.
(3) Additional conditions. In addition to the requirements described in subrules 200.5(1) and 200.5(2), a municipality shall demonstrate to the board's satisfaction that all of the following additional conditions are met:
a.
The area of the municipality proposed to be included in the district must meet
the requirements of subrule 200.5(1).
b. The projects proposed to be undertaken in
the district must be of a unique nature and must be likely to have a
substantial beneficial impact on the economy of the state and the economy of
the municipality. If, in the judgment of the board, an applicant's proposed
district plan is not of a unique nature or will not result in benefits claimed,
the board may decline to approve a proposed district plan or may defer a
proposed district plan until amendments are made.
c. The proposed funding sources for each
proposed project must be feasible.
d. At least one of the projects proposed to
be undertaken in the district must include a capital investment of at least $10
million.
e. The total amount of
proposed funding from new tax revenues to be remitted to the municipality from
the fund for all proposed projects in the proposed district plan must not
exceed 35 percent of the total cost of all proposed projects in the proposed
district plan.
f. The amount of
proposed capital investment within the proposed district related to retail
businesses in the proposed district must not exceed 50 percent of the total
capital investment for all proposed projects in the proposed district
plan.
g. The applicant must have
submitted an application under the preapplication process described in rule
261-200.4(15J) and, as part of a provisional funding decision by the board,
must have been approved for a provisional maximum benefit amount.
h. The proposed district plan must meet a
minimum score under the criteria described in rule
261-200.6 (15J).
i. While multiple districts within a single
municipality are not prohibited under the program, the size of any one district
is limited by paragraph 200.5(1)"c" and overlapping districts
are prohibited by paragraph 200.5(1)"e. " Therefore, the board
will consider whether the approval of an additional district is appropriate
given the particulars of the proposed additional district and the goals of the
program. If a municipality proposes an additional district, the board, at its
discretion, may accept the application and score it, or if the board determines
that approval of an additional district would not serve the goals of the
program, the board may reject the application without scoring it.
j. The applicant is not requesting a plan
amendment to increase the maximum benefit amount for an already approved
district. While it is within the discretion of the board to increase the
maximum benefit amount of an approved district, the board will carefully
scrutinize whether an increase is justified by circumstances such as greater
investment or improved projects within the district and whether any change in
the maximum benefit amount serves the goals of the program.
(4)Application materials and submission.
a. A municipality
interested in applying for funding under the program shall submit a
preapplication and a final application to the board for approval and, when
applying, shall provide the information described in this chapter or any other
information the board or the authority may reasonably require in order to
process the application.
b.
Information on submitting an application under the program may be obtained by
contacting the economic development authority. The contact information is:
Iowa Economic Development Authority
Business Finance Team
businessfinance(5iiowaeda.com
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Iowa may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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