Keywords

CRAs, TIF, Redevelopment, Special Districts, Florida

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the legal, ethical, economic, and financial impacts on Community Redevelopment Agencies (CRAs) following the passage of Florida House Bill (HB) 9 in 2019 by interviewing administrators and attorneys of the oldest Florida CRAs. CRAs are dependent special districts, funded by tax increment financing (TIF), and created to address areas deemed slum, blighted, or facing a shortage of affordable housing. HB 9 intended to address transparency and accountability issues and restore CRA operations and spending back to the original purpose, as authorized by Florida Statute 169.

The findings are timely and novel, given it has been five years since the passage of HB 9. Findings reveal that the legal impacts were insignificant because all CRAs felt they were in legal compliance, but staffing constraints and compliance costs mounted, especially for small CRAs. The ethical impacts were insignificant to CRA boards comprised entirely of elected officials but created an administrative burden for agencies with appointed members who now needed to complete ethics training. The economic impacts were minimal, relating to the spending restrictions under the financial impacts, where more emphasis was placed on capital projects instead of special events and funding community associations. Cutting back on programming-related gray areas is a theme, as well as uncertainty or frustration related to capital planning, which requires long-term commitments that CRAs cannot provide if their existence is in jeopardy. The results demonstrate a tense environment and impacts that vary by context and suggest concerns that HB 9 could be an act of legal incrementalism, where the 2019 law serves as a catalyst for future laws to eventually dissolve all CRAs in Florida. Local governments would then retain more property tax revenue and former CRA responsibilities instead of diverting such funding in the form of TIF to CRAs.

Thesis Completion Year

2025

Thesis Completion Semester

Spring

Thesis Chair

Henley, Terry

College

College of Community Innovation and Education

Department

Public Administration

Thesis Discipline

Urban and Regional Planning

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus Access

None

Campus Location

UCF Downtown

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Included in

Land Use Law Commons

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Rights Statement

In Copyright