Sections 18-2101 to 18-2157 shall be known and may be cited as the Community Development Law.

Source:Laws 1951, c. 224, § 1, p. 797; R.R.S.1943, § 14-1601; Laws 1957, c. 52, § 1, p. 247; R.R.S.1943, § 19-2601; Laws 1973, LB 299, § 1; Laws 1997, LB 875, § 2; Laws 2007, LB562, § 1; Laws 2013, LB66, § 1; Laws 2018, LB496, § 1; Laws 2018, LB874, § 4; Laws 2019, LB86, § 1; Laws 2020, LB1021, § 1; Laws 2023, LB531, § 10.
Operative Date: June 7, 2023

Annotations

In considering a challenge to actions taken by a community redevelopment authority pursuant to the Community Development Law, a district court may disturb the decision of the community redevelopment authority only if it determines that the decision was illegal or is not supported by the evidence and is thus arbitrary, unreasonable, or clearly wrong. Under the Community Development Law, land cannot be added to an existing community redevelopment area unless (1) the additional land is declared blighted or substandard within the meaning of the Community Development Law or (2) the additional land is reasonably necessary to accomplish the implementation of the existing redevelopment plan. Fitzke v. City of Hastings, 255 Neb. 46, 582 N.W.2d 301 (1998).

Cities of all classes and villages of this state are hereby granted power and authority to create a community development agency by ordinance, which agency may consist of the governing body of the city or village or a new or existing municipal division or department, or combination thereof. When such an agency is created, it shall function in the manner prescribed by ordinance and may exercise all of the power and authority granted to a community redevelopment authority under the Community Development Law. Cities of all classes and villages of this state are also granted power and authority to do all community development activities, and to do all things necessary to cooperate with the federal government in all matters relating to community development program activities as a grantee, or as an agent or otherwise, under the provisions of the federal Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended through the Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1981. Whenever such a city exercises the power conferred in this section, it may levy taxes for the exercise of such jurisdiction and authority and may issue general obligation bonds, general obligation notes, revenue bonds, and revenue notes including general obligation and revenue refunding bonds and notes for the purposes set forth in the Community Development Law and under the power granted to any authority described.

(1) For any city that (a) intends to carry out a redevelopment project which will involve the construction of workforce housing in an extremely blighted area as authorized under subdivision (28)(g) of section 18-2103, (b) intends to prepare a redevelopment plan that will divide ad valorem taxes for a period of more than fifteen years but not more than twenty years as provided in subdivision (4)(a) of section 18-2147, (c) intends to declare an area as an extremely blighted area for purposes of funding decisions under subdivision (1)(b) of section 58-708, or (d) intends to declare an area as an extremely blighted area in order for individuals purchasing residences in such area to qualify for the income tax credit authorized in subsection (7) of section 77-2715.07, the governing body of such city shall first declare, by resolution adopted after the public hearings required under this section, such area to be an extremely blighted area.

(2) Prior to making such declaration, the governing body of the city shall conduct or cause to be conducted a study or an analysis on whether the area is extremely blighted and shall submit the question of whether such area is extremely blighted to the planning commission or board of the city for its review and recommendation. The planning commission or board shall hold a public hearing on the question after giving notice of the hearing as provided in section 18-2115.01. The planning commission or board shall submit its written recommendations to the governing body of the city within thirty days after the public hearing.

(4) Copies of each study or analysis conducted pursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall be posted on the city's public website or made available for public inspection at a location designated by the city.

(5) The study or analysis required under subsection (2) of this section may be conducted in conjunction with the study or analysis required under section 18-2109. The hearings required under this section may be held in conjunction with the hearings required under section 18-2109.

(6) Notwithstanding any other provisions of the Community Development Law, the designation of an area as an extremely blighted area pursuant to this section shall be valid for a period of no less than twenty-five years from the effective date of the resolution declaring such area to be an extremely blighted area, except that such designation may be removed prior to the end of such period pursuant to section 18-2156.

It is hereby found and declared that there exist in cities of all classes and villages of this state areas which have deteriorated and become substandard and blighted because of the unsafe, insanitary, inadequate, or overcrowded condition of the dwellings therein, or because of inadequate planning of the area, or excessive land coverage by the buildings thereon, or the lack of proper light and air and open space, or because of the defective design and arrangement of the buildings thereon, or faulty street or lot layout, or congested traffic conditions, or economically or socially undesirable land uses. Such conditions or a combination of some or all of them have resulted and will continue to result in making such areas economic or social liabilities harmful to the social and economic well-being of the entire communities in which they exist, needlessly increasing public expenditures, imposing onerous municipal burdens, decreasing the tax base, reducing tax revenue, substantially impairing or arresting the sound growth of municipalities, aggravating traffic problems, substantially impairing or arresting the elimination of traffic hazards and the improvement of traffic facilities, and depreciating general community-wide values. The existence of such areas contributes substantially and increasingly to the spread of disease and crime, necessitating excessive and disproportionate expenditures of public funds for the preservation of the public health and safety, for crime prevention, correction, prosecution, punishment and the treatment of juvenile delinquency, and for the maintenance of adequate police, fire, and accident protection and other public services and facilities. These conditions are beyond remedy and control solely by regulatory process in the exercise of the police power and cannot be dealt with effectively by the ordinary operations of private enterprise without the aids herein provided. The elimination of such conditions and the acquisition and preparation of land in or necessary to the renewal of substandard and blighted areas and its sale or lease for development or redevelopment in accordance with general plans and redevelopment plans of communities and any assistance which may be given by any state public body in connection therewith are public uses and purposes for which public money may be expended and private property acquired. The necessity in the public interest for the provisions of the Community Development Law is hereby declared to be a matter of legislative determination.

It is further found and declared that the prevention and elimination of blight is a matter of state policy, public interest, and statewide concern and within the powers and authority inhering in and reserved to the state, in order that the state and its municipalities shall not continue to be endangered by areas which are focal centers of disease, promote juvenile delinquency, and consume an excessive proportion of their revenue.

It is further found and declared that certain substandard and blighted areas, or portions thereof, may require acquisition, clearance, and disposition, subject to use restrictions, as provided in the Community Development Law, since the prevailing conditions of decay may make impracticable the reclamation of the area by conservation or rehabilitation; that other areas or portions thereof may, through the means provided in the Community Development Law, be susceptible of conservation or rehabilitation in such a manner that the conditions and evils, hereinbefore enumerated, may be eliminated, remedied, or prevented; and that salvageable substandard and blighted areas can be conserved and rehabilitated through appropriate public action and the cooperation and voluntary action of the owners and tenants of property in such areas.

Source:Laws 1951, c. 224, § 2, p. 797; R.R.S.1943, § 14-1602; Laws 1957, c. 52, § 2, p. 247; Laws 1961, c. 61, § 1, p. 223; R.R.S.1943, § 19-2602; Laws 1965, c. 74, § 1, p. 298; Laws 1997, LB 875, § 3.

Cities of all classes and villages of this state are hereby granted power and authority to create community redevelopment authorities and limited community redevelopment authorities.

(1) Whenever an authority or limited authority is created it shall bear the name of the city creating it and shall be legally known as the Community Redevelopment Authority of the City (or Village) of ............. (name of city or village) or the Limited Community Redevelopment Authority of the City (or Village) of ............. (name of city or village).

(2) When it is determined by the governing body of any city by ordinance in the exercise of its discretion that it is expedient to create a community redevelopment authority or limited community redevelopment authority, the mayor of the city or, if the mayor shall fail to act within ninety days after the passage of the ordinance, the president or other presiding officer other than the mayor of the governing body, with the approval of the governing body of the city, shall appoint five or seven persons who shall constitute the authority or the limited authority. The terms of office of the members of a five-member authority initially appointed shall be for one year, two years, three years, four years, and five years, as designated by the mayor, president, other presiding officer, or city manager in making the respective appointments. The terms of office of the members of a seven-member authority initially appointed shall be one member each for one year, two years, and five years, and two members each for three years and four years, as designated by the mayor, president, other presiding officer, or city manager in making the respective appointments. As the terms of the members of the authority expire in cities not having the city manager plan of government, the mayor, with the approval of the governing body of the city, shall appoint or reappoint a member of the authority for a term of five years to succeed the member whose term expires. In cities having the city manager plan of government, the city manager shall appoint or reappoint the members with the approval of the governing body. The terms of office of the members of a limited community redevelopment authority shall be for the duration of only one single specific limited pilot project authorized in the ordinance creating the limited community redevelopment authority, and the terms of the members of a limited community redevelopment authority shall expire upon the completion of the single specific limited pilot project authorized in the ordinance creating the limited community redevelopment authority.

(3) A governing body may at its option submit an ordinance which creates a community redevelopment authority or a limited community redevelopment authority to the electors of the city for approval by a majority vote of the electors voting on the ordinance. On submitting the ordinance for approval, the governing body is authorized to call, by the ordinance, a special or general election and to submit, after thirty days' notice of the time and place of holding the election and according to the manner and method otherwise provided by law for the calling, conducting, canvassing, and certifying of the result of city elections on the submission of propositions to the electors, the proposition to be stated on the ballot as follows:

Shall the City (or Village) of ............. (name of city or village) create a Community Redevelopment Authority of the City (or Village) of ............. (name of city or village)?

When the ordinance submitted to the electors for approval by a majority vote of the electors voting on the ordinance is to create a limited community redevelopment authority the proposition shall be stated on the ballot as follows:

Shall the City (or Village) of ............. (name of city or village) create a Limited Community Redevelopment Authority of the City (or Village) of ............. (name of city or village)?

(4) Vacancies shall be filled for any unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment. Members of the authority so appointed shall hold office until their successors have been appointed and qualified. Members of a limited authority shall hold office as provided in this section. All members of the authority shall serve without compensation, but shall be entitled to be reimbursed for all necessary expenses incurred.

(5) Any authority established under this section shall organize by electing one of its members chairperson and another vice-chairperson, shall have power to employ counsel, a director who shall be ex officio secretary of the authority, and such other officers and employees as may be desired, and shall fix the term of office, qualifications, and compensation of each. The holder of the office of community redevelopment administrator or coordinator of the city may, but need not, be appointed the director but at no additional compensation by the authority. Community redevelopment authorities of cities of the first and second class and villages may secure the services of a director, community redevelopment administrator, or coordinator, and other officers and employees as may be desired through contract with the Department of Economic Development upon terms which are mutually agreeable. Any authority established under this section may validly and effectively act on all matters requiring a resolution or other official action by the concurrence of three members of a five-member authority or four members of a seven-member authority present and voting at a meeting of the authority. Orders, requisitions, warrants, and other documents may be executed by the chairperson or vice-chairperson or by or with others designated in its bylaws.

(6) No member or employee of any authority established under this section shall have any interest directly or indirectly in any contract for property, materials, or services to be required by such authority. No member of any authority established under this section shall also be a member of any planning commission created under section 19-925.

(7) The authority shall keep an accurate account of all its activities and of all receipts and disbursements and make an annual report of such activities, receipts, and disbursements to the governing body of the city.

(8) The governing body of a city creating a community redevelopment authority or a limited community redevelopment authority is hereby authorized to appropriate and loan to the authority a sum not exceeding ten thousand dollars for the purposes of paying expenses of organizing and supervising the work of the authority at the beginning of its activities. The loan shall be authorized by resolution of the governing body which shall set forth the terms and time of the repayment of the loan. The loan may be appropriated out of the general funds or any sinking fund.

(9) All income, revenue, profits, and other funds received by any authority established under this section from whatever source derived, or appropriated by the city, or realized from tax receipts or comprised in the special revenue fund of the city designated for the authority or from the proceeds of bonds, or otherwise, shall be deposited with the city treasurer as ex officio treasurer of the authority without commingling the money with any other money under his or her control and disbursed by him or her by check, draft, or order only upon warrants, orders, or requisitions by the chairperson of the authority or other person authorized by the authority which shall state distinctly the purpose for which the same are drawn. A permanent record shall be kept by the authority of all warrants, orders, or requisitions so drawn, showing the date, amount, consideration, and to whom payable. When paid, the same shall be canceled and kept on file by the city treasurer. The books of any authority established under this section shall from time to time be audited upon the order of the governing body of the municipality in such manner as it may direct, and all books and records of the authority shall at all times be open to public inspection. The Auditor of Public Accounts may audit, or cause to be audited, any authority established under this section or any redevelopment plan of such authority when the Auditor of Public Accounts determines such audit is necessary or when requested by the governing body, and such audit shall be at the expense of the authority. The authority may contract with the holders of any of its bonds or notes as to collection, custody, securing investment, and payment of any money of the authority or any money held in trust or otherwise for the payment of bonds or notes or in any way to secure bonds or notes. The authority may carry out the contract notwithstanding that such contract may be inconsistent with the previous provisions of this subdivision. All banks, capital stock financial institutions, qualifying mutual financial institutions, and trust companies are hereby authorized to give security for the deposits of money of any authority established under the provisions of this section pursuant to the Public Funds Deposit Security Act. Section 77-2366 applies to deposits in capital stock financial institutions. Section 77-2365.01 shall apply to deposits in qualifying mutual financial institutions.

Source:Laws 1957, c. 52, § 3, p. 248; Laws 1961, c. 61, § 2, p. 224; Laws 1963, c. 89, § 9, p. 307; R.S.Supp.,1963, § 19-2602.01; Laws 1965, c. 74, § 2, p. 300; Laws 1967, c. 87, § 1, p. 273; Laws 1969, c. 106, § 1, p. 484; Laws 1969, c. 107, § 1, p. 499; Laws 1989, LB 33, § 23; Laws 1997, LB 875, § 4; Laws 1999, LB 396, § 19; Laws 2001, LB 362, § 26; Laws 2009, LB339, § 1; Laws 2017, LB383, § 1; Laws 2018, LB874, § 6; Laws 2019, LB193, § 8.

Cross References

Public Funds Deposit Security Act, see section 77-2386.

For purposes of the Community Development Law, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) Area of operation means and includes the area within the corporate limits of the city and such land outside the city as may come within the purview of sections 18-2123 and 18-2123.01;

(2) Authority means any community redevelopment authority created pursuant to section 18-2102.01 and any community development agency created pursuant to section 18-2101.01 and does not include a limited community redevelopment authority;

(3) Blighted area means an area (a) which, by reason of the presence of a substantial number of deteriorated or deteriorating structures, existence of defective or inadequate street layout, faulty lot layout in relation to size, adequacy, accessibility, or usefulness, insanitary or unsafe conditions, deterioration of site or other improvements, diversity of ownership, tax or special assessment delinquency exceeding the fair value of the land, defective or unusual conditions of title, improper subdivision or obsolete platting, 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 the community, retards the provision of housing accommodations, or constitutes an economic or social liability and is detrimental to the public health, safety, morals, or welfare in its present condition and use and (b) in which there is at least one of the following conditions: (i) Unemployment in the designated area is at least one hundred twenty percent of the state or national average; (ii) the average age of the residential or commercial units in the area is at least forty years; (iii) more than half of the plotted and subdivided property in an area is unimproved land that has been within the city for forty years and has remained unimproved during that time; (iv) the per capita income of the area is lower than the average per capita income of the city or village in which the area is designated; or (v) the area has had either stable or decreasing population based on the last two decennial censuses. In no event shall a city of the metropolitan, primary, or first class designate more than thirty-five percent of the city as blighted, a city of the second class shall not designate an area larger than fifty percent of the city as blighted, and a village shall not designate an area larger than one hundred percent of the village as blighted. A redevelopment project involving a formerly used defense site as authorized under section 18-2123.01 and any area declared to be an extremely blighted area under section 18-2101.02 shall not count towards the percentage limitations contained in this subdivision;

(4) Bonds means any bonds, including refunding bonds, notes, interim certificates, debentures, or other obligations issued pursuant to the Community Development Law except for bonds issued pursuant to section 18-2142.04;

(8) Community redevelopment area means a substandard and blighted area which the community redevelopment authority designates as appropriate for a redevelopment project;

(9) Employee means a person employed at a business as a result of a redevelopment project;

(10) Employer-provided health benefit means any item paid for by the employer in total or in part that aids in the cost of health care services, including, but not limited to, health insurance, health savings accounts, and employer reimbursement of health care costs;

(11) Enhanced employment area means an area not exceeding six hundred acres (a) within a community redevelopment area which is designated by an authority as eligible for the imposition of an occupation tax or (b) not within a community redevelopment area as may be designated under section 18-2142.04;

(12) Equivalent employees means the number of employees computed by (a) dividing the total hours to be paid in a year by (b) the product of forty times the number of weeks in a year;

(13) Extremely blighted area means a substandard and blighted area in which: (a) The average rate of unemployment in the area during the period covered by the most recent federal decennial census or American Community Survey 5-Year Estimate is at least two hundred percent of the average rate of unemployment in the state during the same period; and (b) the average poverty rate in the area exceeds twenty percent for the total federal census tract or tracts or federal census block group or block groups in the area;

(14) Federal government means the United States of America, or any agency or instrumentality, corporate or otherwise, of the United States of America;

(15) Governing body or local governing body means the city council, board of trustees, or other legislative body charged with governing the municipality;

(16) Limited community redevelopment authority means a community redevelopment authority created pursuant to section 18-2102.01 having only one single specific limited pilot project authorized;

(17) Mayor means the mayor of the city or chairperson of the board of trustees of the village;

(18) New investment means the value of improvements to real estate made in an enhanced employment area by a developer or a business;

(19) Number of new employees means the number of equivalent employees that are employed at a business as a result of the redevelopment project during a year that are in excess of the number of equivalent employees during the year immediately prior to the year that a redevelopment plan is adopted;

(20) Obligee means any bondholder, agent, or trustee for any bondholder, or lessor demising to any authority, established pursuant to section 18-2102.01, property used in connection with a redevelopment project, or any assignee or assignees of such lessor's interest or any part thereof, and the federal government when it is a party to any contract with such authority;

(22) Person means any individual, firm, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, company, association, joint-stock association, or body politic and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, or other similar representative thereof;

(23) Public body means the state or any municipality, county, township, board, commission, authority, district, or other political subdivision or public body of the state;

(24) Real property means all lands, including improvements and fixtures thereon, and property of any nature appurtenant thereto, or used in connection therewith, and every estate, interest and right, legal or equitable, therein, including terms for years and liens by way of judgment, mortgage, or otherwise, and the indebtedness secured by such liens;

(25) Redeveloper means any person, partnership, or public or private corporation or agency which enters or proposes to enter into a redevelopment contract;

(26) Redevelopment contract means a contract entered into between an authority and a redeveloper for the redevelopment of an area in conformity with a redevelopment plan;

(27) Redevelopment plan means a plan, as it exists from time to time for one or more community redevelopment areas, or for a redevelopment project, which (a) conforms to the general plan for the municipality as a whole and (b) is sufficiently complete to indicate such land acquisition, demolition and removal of structures, redevelopment, improvements, and rehabilitation as may be proposed to be carried out in the community redevelopment area, zoning and planning changes, if any, land uses, maximum densities, and building requirements;

(28) Redevelopment project means any work or undertaking in one or more community redevelopment areas: (a) To acquire substandard and blighted areas or portions thereof, including lands, structures, or improvements the acquisition of which is necessary or incidental to the proper clearance, development, or redevelopment of such substandard and blighted areas; (b) to clear any such areas by demolition or removal of existing buildings, structures, streets, utilities, or other improvements thereon and to install, construct, or reconstruct streets, utilities, parks, playgrounds, public spaces, public parking facilities, sidewalks or moving sidewalks, convention and civic centers, bus stop shelters, lighting, benches or other similar furniture, trash receptacles, shelters, skywalks and pedestrian and vehicular overpasses and underpasses, enhancements to structures in the redevelopment plan area which exceed minimum building and design standards in the community and prevent the recurrence of substandard and blighted conditions, and any other necessary public improvements essential to the preparation of sites for uses in accordance with a redevelopment plan; (c) to sell, lease, or otherwise make available land in such areas for residential, recreational, commercial, industrial, or other uses, including parking or other facilities functionally related or subordinate to such uses, or for public use or to retain such land for public use, in accordance with a redevelopment plan; and may also include the preparation of the redevelopment plan, the planning, survey, and other work incident to a redevelopment project and the preparation of all plans and arrangements for carrying out a redevelopment project; (d) to dispose of all real and personal property or any interest in such property, or assets, cash, or other funds held or used in connection with residential, recreational, commercial, industrial, or other uses, including parking or other facilities functionally related or subordinate to such uses, or any public use specified in a redevelopment plan or project, except that such disposition shall be at its fair value for uses in accordance with the redevelopment plan; (e) to acquire real property in a community redevelopment area which, under the redevelopment plan, is to be repaired or rehabilitated for dwelling use or related facilities, repair or rehabilitate the structures, and resell the property; (f) to carry out plans for a program of voluntary or compulsory repair, rehabilitation, or demolition of buildings in accordance with the redevelopment plan; and (g) in a rural community or in an extremely blighted area within a municipality that is not a rural community, to carry out construction of workforce housing;

(29) Redevelopment project valuation means the valuation for assessment of the taxable real property in a redevelopment project last certified for the year prior to the effective date of the provision authorized in section 18-2147;

(30) Rural community means any municipality in a county with a population of fewer than one hundred thousand inhabitants as determined by the most recent federal decennial census;

(31) Substandard area means an area in which there is a predominance of buildings or improvements, whether nonresidential or residential in character, which, by reason of dilapidation, deterioration, age or obsolescence, inadequate provision for ventilation, light, air, sanitation, or open spaces, high density of population and overcrowding, or the existence of conditions which endanger life or property by fire and other causes, or any combination of such factors, is conducive to ill health, transmission of disease, infant mortality, juvenile delinquency, and crime, (which cannot be remedied through construction of prisons), and is detrimental to the public health, safety, morals, or welfare; and

(b) Housing that is attractive to new residents considering relocation to a rural community;

(c) Owner-occupied housing units that cost not more than two hundred seventy-five thousand dollars to construct or rental housing units that cost not more than two hundred thousand dollars per unit to construct. For purposes of this subdivision (c), housing unit costs shall be updated annually by the Department of Economic Development based upon the most recent increase or decrease in the Producer Price Index for all commodities, published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics;

(d) Owner-occupied and rental housing units for which the cost to substantially rehabilitate exceeds fifty percent of a unit's assessed value; and

Source:Laws 1951, c. 224, § 3, p. 797; R.R.S.1943, § 14-1603; Laws 1957, c. 52, § 4, p. 249; Laws 1961, c. 61, § 3, p. 227; R.R.S.1943, § 19-2603; Laws 1965, c. 74, § 3, p. 303; Laws 1969, c. 106, § 2, p. 488; Laws 1973, LB 299, § 3; Laws 1979, LB 158, § 2; Laws 1980, LB 986, § 2; Laws 1984, LB 1084, § 2; Laws 1993, LB 121, § 143; Laws 1997, LB 875, § 5; Laws 2007, LB562, § 2; Laws 2012, LB729, § 1; Laws 2013, LB66, § 2; Laws 2014, LB1012, § 1; Laws 2018, LB496, § 2; Laws 2018, LB874, § 7; Laws 2019, LB86, § 3; Laws 2020, LB1003, § 173; Laws 2021, LB131, § 18.

When any property consisting of housing is acquired for redevelopment by the authority, the authority shall provide for relocation of any persons displaced as a result thereof.

The governing body of a city, to the greatest extent it deems to be feasible in carrying out the provisions of the Community Development Law, shall afford maximum opportunity, consistent with the sound needs of the city as a whole, to the rehabilitation or redevelopment of the community redevelopment area by private enterprises. The governing body of a city shall give consideration to this objective in exercising its powers under the Community Development Law, including the formulation of a workable program, the approval of community redevelopment plans consistent with the general plan for the development of the city, the exercise of its zoning powers, the enforcement of other laws, codes, and regulations, relating to the use of land and the use and occupancy of buildings and improvements, the disposition of any property acquired, and the providing of necessary public improvements.

Source:Laws 1951, c. 224, § 4(1), p. 800; R.R.S.1943, § 14-1604; Laws 1957, c. 52, § 5, p. 252; Laws 1961, c. 61, § 4, p. 230; R.R.S.1943, § 19-2604; Laws 2018, LB874, § 8.

(1) The governing body of a city or an authority at its direction for the purposes of the Community Development Law may formulate for the city a workable program for utilizing appropriate private and public resources to eliminate or prevent the development or spread of urban blight, to encourage needed urban rehabilitation, to provide for the redevelopment of substandard and blighted areas, or to undertake any or all of such activities or other feasible activities as may be suitably employed to achieve the objectives of such workable program. Such workable program may include, without limitation, provision for (a) the prevention of the spread of blight into areas of the city which are free from blight through diligent enforcement of housing, zoning, and occupancy controls and standards; (b) the rehabilitation or conservation of substandard and blighted areas or portions of such areas by replanning, removing congestion, and providing parks, playgrounds, and other public improvements by encouraging voluntary rehabilitation and by compelling the repair and rehabilitation of deteriorated or deteriorating structures; and (c) the clearance and redevelopment of substandard and blighted areas or portions of such areas.

(2) As part of a workable program formulated under subsection (1) of this section, the governing body of a city or an authority may develop guidelines for the consideration or approval of redevelopment projects that are financed in whole or in part through the division of taxes as provided in section 18-2147. Such guidelines may establish general goals and priorities for the use of funds from such division of taxes or limitations or restrictions on the use of funds from such division of taxes within such city.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provisions of the Community Development Law, where the local governing body certifies that an area is in need of redevelopment or rehabilitation as a result of flood, fire, hurricane, earthquake, storm, or other catastrophe respecting which the Governor of the state has certified the need for disaster assistance under federal law, the local governing body may approve a redevelopment plan and a redevelopment project with respect to such area without regard to the provisions of the Community Development Law requiring a general plan for the city and notice and public hearing or findings other than as provided in this section.

Source:Laws 1951, c. 224, § 4(2), p. 800; R.R.S.1943, § 14-1605; Laws 1957, c. 52, § 6, p. 253; Laws 1961, c. 61, § 5, p. 231; R.R.S.1943, § 19-2605; Laws 1997, LB 875, § 6; Laws 2023, LB531, § 12.
Operative Date: June 7, 2023

Annotations

The Community Development Law gives local governing bodies the discretion to remove blighted designations as they see fit to best serve the sound needs of the community. Prime Realty Dev., Inc. v. City of Omaha, 258 Neb. 72, 602 N.W.2d 13 (1999).

No member or employee of an authority shall voluntarily acquire any interest, direct or indirect, in any redevelopment project or in any property included or planned by the authority to be included in any such project, or in any contract or proposed contract in connection with any such project. Where the acquisition is not voluntary, such member or employee shall immediately disclose such interest in writing to the authority and such disclosure shall be entered upon the minutes of the authority. If any member or employee of an authority presently owns or controls or owned or controlled within the preceding two years an interest, direct or indirect, in any property included or planned by the authority to be included in any redevelopment project, he immediately shall disclose such interest in writing to the authority and such disclosure shall be entered upon the minutes of the authority. Upon such disclosure such member or employee of an authority shall not participate in any action by the authority affecting such property.

An authority shall constitute a public body corporate and politic, exercising public and essential governmental functions and having all the powers necessary or convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of the Community Development Law, including the power:

(1) To sue and to be sued; to have a seal and to alter the same at pleasure; to have perpetual succession; to make and execute contracts and other instruments necessary or convenient to the exercise of the powers of the authority; and to make and from time to time amend and repeal bylaws, rules, and regulations not inconsistent with the Community Development Law;

(2) To prepare or cause to be prepared and recommend redevelopment plans to the governing body of the city and to undertake and carry out redevelopment projects within its area of operation;

(3) To arrange or contract for the furnishing or repair, by any person or agency, public or private, of services, privileges, works, streets, roads, public utilities, or other facilities for or in connection with a redevelopment project; and, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Community Development Law or any other provision of law, to agree to any conditions that it may deem reasonable and appropriate attached to federal financial assistance and imposed pursuant to federal law relating to the determination of prevailing salaries or wages or compliance with labor standards, in the undertaking or carrying out of a redevelopment project, and to include in any contract let in connection with such a project provisions to fulfill such federally imposed conditions as it may deem reasonable and appropriate;

(4) Within its area of operation, to purchase, lease, obtain options upon, or acquire by gift, grant, bequest, devise, eminent domain, or otherwise any real or personal property or any interest therein, together with any improvements thereon, necessary or incidental to a redevelopment project; to hold, improve, clear, or prepare for redevelopment any such property; to sell, lease for a term not exceeding ninety-nine years, exchange, transfer, assign, subdivide, retain for its own use, mortgage, pledge, hypothecate, or otherwise encumber or dispose of any real or personal property or any interest therein; to enter into contracts with redevelopers of property containing covenants, restrictions, and conditions regarding the use of such property for residential, commercial, industrial, or recreational purposes or for public purposes in accordance with the redevelopment plan and such other covenants, restrictions, and conditions as the authority may deem necessary to prevent a recurrence of substandard and blighted areas or to effectuate the purposes of the Community Development Law; to make any of the covenants, restrictions, or conditions of the foregoing contracts covenants running with the land and to provide appropriate remedies for any breach of any such covenants or conditions, including the right in the authority to terminate such contracts and any interest in the property created pursuant thereto; to borrow money, issue bonds, and provide security for loans or bonds; to establish a revolving loan fund; to insure or provide for the insurance of any real or personal property or the operation of the authority against any risks or hazards, including the power to pay premiums on any such insurance; to enter into any contracts necessary to effectuate the purposes of the Community Development Law; and to provide grants, loans, or other means of financing to public or private parties in order to accomplish the rehabilitation or redevelopment in accordance with a redevelopment plan, except that the proceeds from indebtedness incurred for the purpose of financing a redevelopment project that includes the division of taxes as provided in section 18-2147 shall not be used to establish a revolving loan fund. No statutory provision with respect to the acquisition, clearance, or disposition of property by other public bodies shall restrict an authority exercising powers hereunder, in such functions, unless the Legislature shall specifically so state;

(5) To invest any funds held in reserves or sinking funds or any funds not required for immediate disbursement in property or securities in which savings banks or other banks may legally invest funds subject to their control; and to redeem its bonds at the redemption price established therein or to purchase its bonds at less than redemption price, and such bonds redeemed or purchased shall be canceled;

(6) To borrow money and to apply for and accept advances, loans, grants, contributions, and any other form of financial assistance from the federal government, from the state, county, municipality, or other public body, or from any sources, public or private, including charitable funds, foundations, corporations, trusts, or bequests, for purposes of the Community Development Law, to give such security as may be required, and to enter into and carry out contracts in connection therewith; and notwithstanding any other provision of law, to include in any contract for financial assistance with the federal government for a redevelopment project such conditions imposed pursuant to federal law as the authority may deem reasonable and appropriate and which are not inconsistent with the purposes of the Community Development Law;

(7) Acting through one or more members of an authority or other persons designated by the authority, to conduct examinations and investigations and to hear testimony and take proof under oath at public or private hearings on any matter material for its information; to administer oaths and to issue commissions for the examination of witnesses who are outside of the state or unable to attend before the authority or excused from attendance; and to make available to appropriate agencies or public officials, including those charged with the duty of abating or requiring the correction of nuisances or like conditions, demolishing unsafe or insanitary structures, or eliminating conditions of blight within its area of operation, its findings and recommendations with regard to any building or property where conditions exist which are dangerous to the public health, safety, morals, or welfare;

(8) Within its area of operation, to make or have made all surveys, appraisals, studies, and plans, but not including the preparation of a general plan for the community, necessary to the carrying out of the purposes of the Community Development Law and to contract or cooperate with any and all persons or agencies, public or private, in the making and carrying out of such surveys, appraisals, studies, and plans;

(9) To prepare plans and provide reasonable assistance for the relocation of families, business concerns, and others displaced from a redevelopment project area to permit the carrying out of the redevelopment project to the extent essential for acquiring possession of and clearing such area or parts thereof; and to make relocation payments to or with respect to such persons for moving expenses and losses of property for which reimbursement or compensation is not otherwise made, including the making of such payments financed by the federal government;

(10) To make such expenditures as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the Community Development Law; and to make expenditures from funds obtained from the federal government without regard to any other laws pertaining to the making and approval of appropriations and expenditures;

(11) To certify on or before September 30 of each year to the governing body of the city the amount of tax to be levied for the succeeding fiscal year for community redevelopment purposes, not to exceed two and six-tenths cents on each one hundred dollars upon the taxable value of the taxable property in such city, which levy is subject to allocation under section 77-3443 on and after July 1, 1998. The governing body shall levy and collect the taxes so certified at the same time and in the same manner as other city taxes are levied and collected, and the proceeds of such taxes, when due and as collected, shall be set aside and deposited in the special account or accounts in which other revenue of the authority is deposited. Such proceeds shall be employed to assist in the defraying of any expenses of redevelopment plans and projects, including the payment of principal and interest on any bonds issued to pay the costs of any such plans and projects;

(12) To exercise all or any part or combination of powers granted in this section;

(13) To plan, undertake, and carry out neighborhood development programs consisting of redevelopment project undertakings and activities in one or more community redevelopment areas which are planned and carried out on the basis of annual increments in accordance with the Community Development Law for planning and carrying out redevelopment projects;

(14) To agree with the governing body of the city for the imposition of an occupation tax for an enhanced employment area; and

(15) To demolish any structure determined by the governing body of the city to be unsafe or unfit for human occupancy in accordance with section 18-1722.01.

Source:Laws 1951, c. 224, § 5, p. 801; R.R.S.1943, § 14-1607; Laws 1957, c. 52, § 7, p. 253; Laws 1961, c. 61, § 6, p. 232; R.R.S.1943, § 19-2607; Laws 1969, c. 106, § 3, p. 491; Laws 1979, LB 158, § 3; Laws 1979, LB 187, § 79; Laws 1980, LB 986, § 3; Laws 1985, LB 52, § 1; Laws 1992, LB 1063, § 11; Laws 1992, Second Spec. Sess., LB 1, § 11; Laws 1993, LB 734, § 28; Laws 1995, LB 452, § 5; Laws 1997, LB 269, § 20; Laws 1997, LB 875, § 7; Laws 2007, LB562, § 3; Laws 2012, LB729, § 2; Laws 2018, LB874, § 9; Laws 2021, LB644, § 10.

Annotations

The taking of substandard or blighted areas by a city for redevelopment and resale in accordance with an approved redevelopment plan which is in conformity with a general plan for the municipality as a whole as provided for in these sections, is a proper public use for a municipality. Monarch Chemical Works, Inc. v. City of Omaha, 203 Neb. 33, 277 N.W.2d 423 (1979).

An authority shall not acquire real property for a redevelopment project unless the governing body of the city in which the redevelopment project area is located has approved the redevelopment plan, as prescribed in section 18-2116 or 18-2155.

(1) A redevelopment plan for a redevelopment project area shall not be prepared and the governing body of the city in which such area is located shall not approve a redevelopment plan unless the governing body has, by resolution adopted after the public hearings required under this section, declared such area to be a substandard and blighted area in need of redevelopment.

(2) Prior to making such declaration, the governing body of the city shall conduct or cause to be conducted a study or an analysis on whether the area is substandard and blighted and shall submit the question of whether such area is substandard and blighted to the planning commission or board of the city for its review and recommendation. The planning commission or board shall hold a public hearing on the question after giving notice of the hearing as provided in section 18-2115.01. The planning commission or board shall submit its written recommendations to the governing body of the city within thirty days after the public hearing.

(3) Upon receipt of the recommendations of the planning commission or board, or if no recommendations are received within thirty days after the public hearing required under subsection (2) of this section, the governing body shall hold a public hearing on the question of whether the area is substandard and blighted after giving notice of the hearing as provided in section 18-2115.01. At the public hearing, all interested parties shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to express their views respecting the proposed declaration. After such hearing, the governing body of the city may adopt a resolution declaring that substandard and blighted conditions exist in the area under study. After the governing body has declared that substandard and blighted conditions exist in the area under study, the governing body may, by one or more resolutions, declare such area or any portion of such area to be a substandard and blighted area without further public hearing.

(4) Copies of each substandard and blighted study or analysis conducted pursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall be posted on the city's public website or made available for public inspection at a location designated by the city.

Source:Laws 1951, c. 224, § 6(2), p. 805; R.R.S.1943, § 14-1609; Laws 1957, c. 52, § 8, p. 257; Laws 1961, c. 61, § 7, p. 236; R.R.S.1943, § 19-2609; Laws 1997, LB 875, § 8; Laws 2018, LB874, § 10; Laws 2020, LB1003, § 174; Laws 2020, LB1021, § 3; Laws 2022, LB1065, § 2; Laws 2023, LB531, § 13.
Operative Date: June 7, 2023

A redevelopment plan shall not be submitted or recommended to the governing body of the city in which the redevelopment project area is located until a general plan for the development of the city has been prepared.

(1) The authority may itself prepare or cause to be prepared a redevelopment plan or any person or agency, public or private, may submit such a plan to an authority. A redevelopment plan shall be sufficiently complete to indicate its relationship to definite local objectives as to appropriate land uses, improved traffic, public transportation, public utilities, recreational and community facilities and other public improvements, and the proposed land uses and building requirements in the redevelopment project area, and shall include without being limited to: (a) The boundaries of the redevelopment project area, with a map showing the existing uses and condition of the real property therein; (b) a land-use plan showing proposed uses of the area; (c) information showing the standards of population densities, land coverage, and building intensities in the area after redevelopment; (d) a statement of the proposed changes, if any, in zoning ordinances or maps, street layouts, street levels or grades, or building codes and ordinances; (e) a site plan of the area; and (f) a statement as to the kind and number of additional public facilities or utilities which will be required to support the new land uses in the area after redevelopment. Any redevelopment plan may include a proposal for the designation of an enhanced employment area.

(2) This section shall not apply to a redevelopment plan that receives an expedited review under section 18-2155.

(1) Prior to recommending a redevelopment plan to the governing body for approval, an authority shall submit such plan to the planning commission or board of the city in which the redevelopment project area is located for review and recommendations as to its conformity with the general plan for the development of the city as a whole. The planning commission or board shall submit its written recommendations with respect to the proposed redevelopment plan to the authority within thirty days after receipt of the plan for review. Upon receipt of the recommendations of the planning commission or board or, if no recommendations are received within such thirty days, then without such recommendations, an authority may recommend the redevelopment plan to the governing body of the city for approval.

(2) This section shall not apply to a redevelopment plan that receives an expedited review under section 18-2155.

(1) Prior to recommending a redevelopment plan to the governing body for approval, an authority shall consider whether the proposed land uses and building requirements in the redevelopment project area are designed with the general purpose of accomplishing, in conformance with the general plan, a coordinated, adjusted, and harmonious development of the city and its environs which will, in accordance with present and future needs, promote health, safety, morals, order, convenience, prosperity, and the general welfare, as well as efficiency and economy in the process of development, including, among other things, adequate provision for traffic, vehicular parking, the promotion of safety from fire, panic, and other dangers, adequate provision for light and air, the promotion of the healthful and convenient distribution of population, the provision of adequate transportation, water, sewerage, and other public utilities, schools, parks, recreational and community facilities, and other public requirements, the promotion of sound design and arrangement, the wise and efficient expenditure of public funds, and the prevention of the recurrence of insanitary or unsafe dwelling accommodations or conditions of blight.

(2) The authority shall conduct a cost-benefit analysis for each redevelopment project whose redevelopment plan includes the division of taxes as provided in section 18-2147. In conducting the cost-benefit analysis, the authority shall use a cost-benefit model developed for use by local projects. Any cost-benefit model used by the authority shall consider and analyze the following factors:

(a) Tax shifts resulting from the division of taxes as provided in section 18-2147;

(b) Public infrastructure and community public service needs impacts and local tax impacts arising from the approval of the redevelopment project;

(c) Impacts on employers and employees of firms locating or expanding within the boundaries of the area of the redevelopment project;

(d) Impacts on other employers and employees within the city or village and the immediate area that are located outside of the boundaries of the area of the redevelopment project;

(e) Impacts on the student populations of school districts within the city or village; and

(f) Any other impacts determined by the authority to be relevant to the consideration of costs and benefits arising from the redevelopment project.

(3) Copies of each cost-benefit analysis conducted pursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall be posted on the city's public website or made available for public inspection at a location designated by the city.

(4) This section shall not apply to a redevelopment plan that receives an expedited review under section 18-2155.

Source:Laws 1951, c. 224, § 6(6), p. 806; R.R.S.1943, § 14-1613; Laws 1957, c. 52, § 9, p. 257; R.R.S.1943, § 19-2613; Laws 1997, LB 875, § 9; Laws 1999, LB 774, § 1; Laws 2018, LB874, § 11; Laws 2020, LB1021, § 7.

(1) The recommendation of a redevelopment plan by an authority to the governing body shall be accompanied by the recommendations, if any, of the planning commission or board concerning the redevelopment plan; a statement of the proposed method and estimated cost of the acquisition and preparation for redevelopment of the redevelopment project area and the estimated proceeds or revenue from its disposal to redevelopers; a statement of the proposed method of financing the redevelopment project; and a statement of a feasible method proposed for the relocation of families to be displaced from the redevelopment project area.

(2) This section shall not apply to a redevelopment plan that receives an expedited review under section 18-2155.

(1) The planning commission or board of the city shall hold a public hearing on any redevelopment plan or substantial modification thereof after giving notice of the hearing as provided in section 18-2115.01.

(2) After the hearing required under subsection (1) of this section, the governing body of the city shall hold a public hearing on any redevelopment plan or substantial modification thereof after giving notice of the hearing as provided in section 18-2115.01. At the public hearing, all interested parties shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to express their views respecting the proposed redevelopment plan.

(3) For purposes of this section, substantial modification means a change to a redevelopment plan that (a) materially alters or reduces existing areas or structures otherwise available for public use or access, (b) substantially alters the use of the community redevelopment area as contemplated in the redevelopment plan, or (c) increases the amount of ad valorem taxes pledged under section 18-2150 by more than five percent, if the amount of such taxes is included in the redevelopment plan.

(4) This section shall not apply to a redevelopment plan that receives an expedited review under section 18-2155.

Source:Laws 1951, c. 224, § 6(8), p. 807; R.R.S.1943, § 14-1615; Laws 1957, c. 52, § 10, p. 258; R.R.S.1943, § 19-2615; Laws 1995, LB 140, § 1; Laws 1997, LB 875, § 10; Laws 2014, LB679, § 2; Laws 2018, LB874, § 12; Laws 2020, LB1003, § 175; Laws 2020, LB1021, § 9.

(1) For any hearing to be held pursuant to section 18-2101.02, 18-2109, or 18-2115:

(i) Be published at least once a week for two consecutive weeks in a legal newspaper in or of general circulation in the community;

(ii) Be given to any neighborhood association which is registered under subsection (2) of this section and whose area of representation is located in whole or in part within a one-mile radius of the area to be declared extremely blighted under section 18-2101.02, the area to be declared substandard and blighted under section 18-2109, or the area to be redeveloped in the redevelopment plan or substantial modification thereof under section 18-2115; and

(iii) Be given to the president or chairperson of the governing body of each county, school district, community college area, educational service unit, and natural resources district that includes the real property to be declared extremely blighted under section 18-2101.02, the real property to be declared substandard and blighted under section 18-2109, or the real property subject to the redevelopment plan or substantial modification thereof under section 18-2115;

(b) The time of the hearing shall be at least ten days from the last publication of notice under subdivision (1)(a)(i) of this section;

(c) The notice of hearing described in subdivision (1)(a)(ii) of this section shall be given at least ten days prior to the hearing, shall be sent in the manner requested by the neighborhood association, and shall be deemed given on the date it is sent to the neighborhood association. The notice of hearing described in subdivision (1)(a)(iii) of this section shall be given at least ten days prior to the hearing, shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the president or chairperson of the governing body, and shall be deemed given on the date it is mailed by certified mail to the president or chairperson; and

(ii) A map of sufficient size to show the area to be declared extremely blighted under section 18-2101.02, the area to be declared substandard and blighted under section 18-2109, or the area to be redeveloped in the redevelopment plan or substantial modification thereof under section 18-2115, or information on where to find such map;

(iii) For a hearing held pursuant to section 18-2101.02, information on where to find copies of the study or analysis conducted pursuant to subsection (2) of section 18-2101.02;

(iv) For a hearing held pursuant to section 18-2109, information on where to find copies of the study or analysis conducted pursuant to subsection (2) of section 18-2109; and

(v) For a hearing held pursuant to section 18-2115, a specific identification of the area to be redeveloped under the plan and information on where to find copies of any cost-benefit analysis conducted pursuant to section 18-2113.

(2) Each neighborhood association desiring to receive notice of any hearing required under section 18-2101.02, 18-2109, or 18-2115 shall register with the city's planning department or, if there is no planning department, with the city clerk. The registration shall include a description of the area of representation of the association, the name of and contact information for the individual designated by the association to receive the notice on its behalf, and the requested manner of service, whether by email, first-class mail, or certified mail. Registration of the neighborhood association for purposes of this section shall be accomplished in accordance with such other rules and regulations as may be adopted and promulgated by the city.

(1) Following the public hearings required under section 18-2115, the governing body may approve a redevelopment plan if (a) it finds and documents in writing that the plan is feasible and in conformity with the general plan for the development of the city as a whole and the plan is in conformity with the legislative declarations and determinations set forth in the Community Development Law and (b) it finds and documents in writing that, if the plan uses funds authorized in section 18-2147, (i) the redevelopment project in the plan would not be economically feasible without the use of tax-increment financing, (ii) the redevelopment project would not occur in the community redevelopment area without the use of tax-increment financing, and (iii) the costs and benefits of the redevelopment project, including costs and benefits to other affected political subdivisions, the economy of the community, and the demand for public and private services, have been analyzed by the governing body and have been found to be in the long-term best interest of the community impacted by the redevelopment project.

(2) In connection with the approval of any redevelopment plan which includes the designation of an enhanced employment area, the governing body may approve the redevelopment plan if it determines that any new investment within such enhanced employment area will result in at least (a) two new employees and new investment of one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars in counties with fewer than fifteen thousand inhabitants, (b) five new employees and new investment of two hundred fifty thousand dollars in counties with at least fifteen thousand inhabitants but fewer than twenty-five thousand inhabitants, (c) ten new employees and new investment of five hundred thousand dollars in counties with at least twenty-five thousand inhabitants but fewer than fifty thousand inhabitants, (d) fifteen new employees and new investment of one million dollars in counties with at least fifty thousand inhabitants but fewer than one hundred thousand inhabitants, (e) twenty new employees and new investment of one million five hundred thousand dollars in counties with at least one hundred thousand inhabitants but fewer than two hundred thousand inhabitants, (f) twenty-five new employees and new investment of two million dollars in counties with at least two hundred thousand inhabitants but fewer than four hundred thousand inhabitants, or (g) thirty new employees and new investment of three million dollars in counties with at least four hundred thousand inhabitants. Any business that has one hundred thirty-five thousand square feet or more and annual gross sales of ten million dollars or more shall provide an employer-provided health benefit of at least three thousand dollars annually to all new employees who are working thirty hours per week or more on average and have been employed at least six months. In making such determination, the governing body may rely upon written undertakings provided by any redeveloper in connection with application for approval of the redevelopment plan.

(3) This section shall not apply to a redevelopment plan that receives an expedited review under section 18-2155.

Source:Laws 1951, c. 224, § 6(9), p. 807; R.R.S.1943, § 14-1616; Laws 1957, c. 52, § 11, p. 258; R.R.S.1943, § 19-2616; Laws 1997, LB 875, § 11; Laws 2007, LB562, § 5; Laws 2018, LB874, § 14; Laws 2020, LB1021, § 10.

A redevelopment plan which has not been approved by the governing body when submitted by a redeveloper under section 18-2155 or when recommended by the authority may again be submitted or recommended to the governing body with any modifications deemed advisable. A redevelopment plan may be modified at any time by the authority, except that if modified after the lease or sale of real property in the redevelopment project area, the modification must be consented to by the redeveloper or redevelopers of such real property or his or her successor, or their successors, in interest affected by the proposed modification. Where the proposed modification will substantially change the redevelopment plan as previously approved by the governing body the modification must similarly be approved by the governing body.

(1)(a) On or before December 1 each year, each city which has approved one or more redevelopment plans which are financed in whole or in part through the division of taxes as provided in section 18-2147 shall provide a report to the Property Tax Administrator on each such redevelopment plan which includes the following information:

(i) A copy of the redevelopment plan and any amendments thereto, including the date upon which the redevelopment plan was approved, the effective date for dividing the ad valorem tax as provided to the county assessor pursuant to subsection (6) of section 18-2147, and the location and boundaries of the property in the redevelopment project; and

(ii) A short narrative description of the type of development undertaken by the city or village with the financing and the type of business or commercial activity locating within the redevelopment project area as a result of the redevelopment project.

(b) If a city has approved one or more redevelopment plans using an expedited review under section 18-2155, the city may file a single report under this subsection for all such redevelopment plans.

(2) The report required under subsection (1) of this section must be filed each year, regardless of whether the information in the report has changed, except that a city is not required to refile a copy of the redevelopment plan or an amendment thereto if such copy or amendment has previously been filed.

(3) The Property Tax Administrator shall compile a report for each active redevelopment project, based upon information provided by the cities pursuant to subsection (1) of this section and information reported by the county assessor or county clerk on the certificate of taxes levied pursuant to section 77-1613.01. Each report shall be electronically transmitted to the Clerk of the Legislature not later than March 1 each year. The report may include any recommendations of the Property Tax Administrator as to what other information should be included in the report from the cities so as to facilitate analysis of the uses, purposes, and effectiveness of tax-increment financing and the process for its implementation or to streamline the reporting process provided for in this section to eliminate unnecessary paperwork.

Source:Laws 1997, LB 875, § 12; Laws 1999, LB 774, § 2; Laws 2006, LB 808, § 1; Laws 2012, LB782, § 19; Laws 2018, LB874, § 15; Laws 2020, LB1021, § 13; Laws 2023, LB531, § 14.
Operative Date: June 7, 2023

On or before May 1 of each year, each authority, or such other division or department of the city as designated by the governing body, shall compile information regarding the approval and progress of redevelopment projects that are financed in whole or in part through the division of taxes as provided in section 18-2147 and report such information to the governing body of the city and to the governing body of each county, school district, community college area, educational service unit, and natural resources district whose property taxes are affected by such division of taxes. The report shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:

(1) The total number of active redevelopment projects within the city that have been financed in whole or in part through the division of taxes as provided in section 18-2147;

(3) The estimated amount of outstanding indebtedness related to each such redevelopment project and an estimated date by which such indebtedness is expected to be paid in full;

(4) A comparison between the initial projected valuation of property included in each such redevelopment project as described in the redevelopment contract or, for redevelopment projects approved using an expedited review under section 18-2155, in the redevelopment plan and the assessed value of the property included in each such redevelopment project as of January 1 of the year of the report;

(5) The number of such redevelopment projects approved by the governing body in the previous calendar year;

(6) Information specific to each such redevelopment project approved by the governing body in the previous calendar year, including the project area, project type, amount of financing approved, and total estimated project costs;

(7) The number of redevelopment projects for which financing has been paid in full during the previous calendar year and for which taxes are no longer being divided pursuant to section 18-2147; and

(1) A redevelopment project that includes the division of taxes as provided in section 18-2147 shall not provide for the reimbursement of costs incurred prior to approval of the redevelopment project, except for costs relating to:

(a) The preparation of materials and applications related to the redevelopment project;

(b) The preparation of a cost-benefit analysis conducted pursuant to section 18-2113;

(e) Land acquisition and related due diligence activities, including, but not limited to, surveys and environmental studies; and

(2) This section shall not be construed to require the reimbursement of legal fees incurred prior to approval of the redevelopment project.

(1) On and after October 1, 2018, each city that has approved one or more redevelopment plans or redevelopment projects that are financed in whole or in part through the division of taxes as provided in section 18-2147 shall retain copies of (a) all such redevelopment plans and (b) all supporting documents associated with the redevelopment plans or redevelopment projects, with any related substandard and blighted declaration under section 18-2109, and with any related extremely blighted declaration under section 18-2101.02 that are received or generated by the city.

(2) The city shall retain the redevelopment plans and supporting documents described in subsection (1) of this section for the period of time required under any applicable records retention schedule adopted under the Records Management Act or for three years following the end of the last fiscal year in which ad valorem taxes are divided, whichever period is longer.

(3) For purposes of this section, supporting document includes any substandard and blighted study or analysis conducted pursuant to section 18-2109, any extremely blighted study or analysis conducted pursuant to section 18-2101.02, any cost-benefit analysis conducted pursuant to section 18-2113, and any invoice, receipt, claim, or contract received or generated by the city that provides support for receipts or payments associated with the redevelopment plan or redevelopment project.

Cross References

Records Management Act, see section 84-1220.

An authority may sell, lease for a term not exceeding ninety-nine years, exchange, or otherwise transfer real property or any interest therein in a redevelopment project area to any redeveloper for residential, recreational, commercial, industrial, or other uses, including parking or other facilities functionally related or subordinate to such uses, or for public use in accordance with the redevelopment plan, subject to such covenants, conditions, and restrictions as it may deem to be in the public interest or to carry out the purposes of the Community Development Law. Such real property shall be sold, leased, or transferred at its fair value for uses in accordance with the redevelopment plan. In determining the fair value of real property for uses in accordance with the redevelopment plan, an authority shall take into account and give consideration to the uses and purposes required by such plan; the restrictions upon, and the covenants, conditions, and obligations assumed by the redeveloper of such property; the objectives of the redevelopment plan for the prevention of the recurrence of substandard and blighted areas; and such other matters as the authority shall specify as being appropriate. In fixing rentals and selling prices, an authority shall give consideration to appraisals of the property for such uses made by land experts employed by the authority.

Source:Laws 1951, c. 224, § 7(1), p. 808; R.R.S.1943, § 14-1618; Laws 1957, c. 52, § 12, p. 258; Laws 1961, c. 61, § 10, p. 237; R.R.S.1943, § 19-2618; Laws 1979, LB 158, § 4; Laws 1997, LB 875, § 13.

(1) An authority shall, by public notice by publication once each week for two consecutive weeks in a legal newspaper having a general circulation in the city, prior to the consideration of any redevelopment contract proposal relating to real estate owned or to be owned by the authority, invite proposals from, and make available all pertinent information to, private redevelopers or any persons interested in undertaking the redevelopment of an area, or any part thereof, which the governing body has declared to be in need of redevelopment. Such notice shall identify the area, and shall state that such further information as is available may be obtained at the office of the authority. The authority shall consider all redevelopment proposals and the financial and legal ability of the prospective redevelopers to carry out their proposals and may negotiate with any redevelopers for proposals for the purchase or lease of any real property in the redevelopment project area. The authority may accept such redevelopment contract proposal as it deems to be in the public interest and in furtherance of the purposes of the Community Development Law if the authority has, not less than thirty days prior thereto, notified the governing body in writing of its intention to accept such redevelopment contract proposal. Thereafter, the authority may execute such redevelopment contract in accordance with the provisions of section 18-2118 and deliver deeds, leases, and other instruments and take all steps necessary to effectuate such redevelopment contract. In its discretion, the authority may, without regard to the foregoing provisions of this section, dispose of real property in a redevelopment project area to private redevelopers for redevelopment under such reasonable competitive bidding procedures as it shall prescribe, subject to the provisions of section 18-2118.

(2) In the case of any real estate owned by a redeveloper, the authority may enter into a redevelopment contract providing for such undertakings as the authority shall determine appropriate. Any such redevelopment contract relating to real estate within an enhanced employment area shall include a statement of the redeveloper's consent with respect to the designation of the area as an enhanced employment area, shall be recorded with respect to the real estate owned by the redeveloper, and shall be binding upon all future owners of such real estate.

(3)(a) Prior to entering into a redevelopment contract pursuant to this section for a redevelopment plan that includes the division of taxes as provided in section 18-2147, the authority shall require the redeveloper to certify the following to the authority:

(i) Whether the redeveloper has filed or intends to file an application to receive tax incentives under the Nebraska Advantage Act or the ImagiNE Nebraska Act for a project located or to be located within the redevelopment project area;

(ii) Whether such application includes or will include, as one of the tax incentives, a refund of the city's local option sales tax revenue; and

(iii) Whether such application has been approved under the Nebraska Advantage Act or the ImagiNE Nebraska Act.

(b) The authority may consider the information provided under subdivision (3)(a) of this section in determining whether to enter into the redevelopment contract.

(4) A redevelopment contract for a redevelopment plan or redevelopment project that includes the division of taxes as provided in section 18-2147 shall include a provision requiring that the redeveloper retain copies of all supporting documents that are associated with the redevelopment plan or redevelopment project and that are received or generated by the redeveloper for three years following the end of the last fiscal year in which ad valorem taxes are divided and provide such copies to the city as needed to comply with the city's retention requirements under section 18-2117.04. For purposes of this subsection, supporting document includes any cost-benefit analysis conducted pursuant to section 18-2113 and any invoice, receipt, claim, or contract received or generated by the redeveloper that provides support for receipts or payments associated with the division of taxes.

(5) A redevelopment contract for a redevelopment plan that includes the division of taxes as provided in section 18-2147 may include a provision requiring that all ad valorem taxes levied upon real property in a redevelopment project be paid before the taxes become delinquent in order for such redevelopment project to receive funds from such division of taxes.

(6) A redevelopment contract for a redevelopment plan or redevelopment project that includes the division of taxes as provided in section 18-2147 may include any additional requirements deemed necessary by the city to ensure that such plan or project complies with the city's comprehensive development plan, the city's affordable housing action plan required under section 19-5505, city zoning regulations, and any other reasonable planning requirements or goals established by the city.

Source:Laws 1951, c. 224, § 7(2), p. 809; R.R.S.1943, § 14-1619; R.R.S.1943, § 19-2619; Laws 2007, LB562, § 6; Laws 2016, LB1059, § 1; Laws 2018, LB874, § 19; Laws 2020, LB1107, § 116; Laws 2021, LB131, § 19.

Cross References

ImagiNE Nebraska Act, see section 77-6801.
Nebraska Advantage Act, see section 77-5701.

In carrying out a redevelopment project, an authority may: (1) Convey to the city in which the project is located, such real property as, in accordance with the redevelopment plan, is to be laid out into streets, alleys, and public ways; (2) grant servitudes, easements, and rights-of-way, for public utilities, sewers, streets, and other similar facilities, in accordance with the redevelopment plan; and (3) convey to the municipality, county, or other appropriate public body, such real property as, in accordance with the redevelopment plan, is to be used for parks, schools, public buildings, facilities, or other public purposes.

An authority may temporarily operate and maintain real property in a redevelopment project area pending the disposition of the property for redevelopment, without regard to the provisions of sections 18-2118 and 18-2119, for such uses and purposes as may be deemed desirable even though not in conformity with the redevelopment plan.

An authority shall have the right to acquire by the exercise of the power of eminent domain any real property which it may deem necessary for a redevelopment project or for its purposes under the Community Development Law after the adoption by it of a resolution declaring that the acquisition of the real property described therein is necessary for such purposes. The procedure to condemn property shall be exercised in the manner set forth in sections 76-704 to 76-724.

When an authority has found and determined by resolution that certain real property described therein is necessary for a redevelopment project or for its purposes under the Community Development Law, the resolution shall be conclusive evidence that the acquisition of such real property is necessary for the purposes described therein.

Annotations

The taking of substandard or blighted areas by a city for redevelopment and resale in accordance with an approved redevelopment plan which is in conformity with a general plan for the municipality as a whole as provided for in these sections, is a proper public use for a municipality. Monarch Chemical Works, Inc. v. City of Omaha, 203 Neb. 33, 277 N.W.2d 423 (1979).

Upon a determination, by resolution, of the governing body of the city in which such land is located, that the acquisition and development of undeveloped vacant land, not within a substandard and blighted area, is essential to the proper clearance or redevelopment of substandard and blighted areas or a necessary part of the general community redevelopment program of the city, or that the acquisition and development of land outside the city, but within a radius of three miles thereof, is necessary or convenient to the proper clearance or redevelopment of one or more substandard and blighted areas within the city or is a necessary adjunct to the general community redevelopment program of the city, the acquisition, planning, and preparation for development or disposal of such land shall constitute a redevelopment project which may be undertaken by the authority in the manner provided in the Community Development Law.

Source:Laws 1951, c. 224, § 9, p. 810; R.R.S.1943, § 14-1623; Laws 1957, c. 52, § 13, p. 259; Laws 1961, c. 61, § 12, p. 238; R.R.S.1943, § 19-2623; Laws 2021, LB163, § 134.

(1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of the Community Development Law to the contrary, a city may undertake a redevelopment project that includes real property located outside the corporate limits of such city if the following requirements have been met:

(a) The real property located outside the corporate limits of the city is a formerly used defense site;

(b) The formerly used defense site is located within the same county as the city approving such redevelopment project;

(d) The governing body of the city approving such redevelopment project passes an ordinance stating such city's intent to annex the formerly used defense site in the future; and

(e) The redevelopment project has been consented to by any city exercising extraterritorial jurisdiction over the formerly used defense site.

(2) For purposes of this section, formerly used defense site means real property that was formerly owned by, leased to, or otherwise possessed by the United States and under the jurisdiction of the United States Secretary of Defense. Formerly used defense site does not include missile silos.

(3) The inclusion of a formerly used defense site in any redevelopment project under this section shall not result in:

(a) Any change in the service area of any electric utility or natural gas utility unless such change has been agreed to by the electric utility or natural gas utility serving the formerly used defense site at the time of approval of such redevelopment project; or

(b) Any change in the service area of any communications company as defined in section 77-2734.04 unless (i) such change has been agreed to by the communications company serving the formerly used defense site at the time of approval of such redevelopment project or (ii) such change occurs pursuant to sections 86-135 to 86-138.

(4) A city approving a redevelopment project under this section and the county in which the formerly used defense site is located may enter into an agreement pursuant to the Interlocal Cooperation Act in which the county agrees to reimburse such city for any services the city provides to the formerly used defense site after approval of the redevelopment project.

Cross References

Interlocal Cooperation Act, see section 13-801.

An authority may issue bonds from time to time in its discretion for any of its corporate purposes, including the payment of principal and interest upon any advances for surveys and plans for redevelopment projects. An authority may also issue refunding bonds for the purpose of paying, retiring, or otherwise refinancing or in exchange for any or all of the principal or interest upon bonds previously issued by the authority. An authority may issue such types of bonds as it may determine, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, bonds on which the principal and interest are payable: (1) Exclusively from the income, proceeds, and revenue of the redevelopment project financed with proceeds of such bonds; (2) exclusively from the income, proceeds, and revenue of any of its redevelopment projects whether or not they are financed in whole or in part with the proceeds of such bonds; (3) exclusively from its revenue and income, including any special assessment levied pursuant to section 18-1722 and such tax revenue or receipts as may be authorized under the Community Development Law, including those which may be pledged under section 18-2150, and from such grants and loans as may be received; or (4) from all or part of the income, proceeds, and revenue enumerated in subdivisions (1), (2), and (3) of this section. Any such bonds may be additionally secured by a pledge of any loan, grant, or contributions, or parts thereof, from the federal government or other source or a mortgage of any redevelopment project or projects of the authority. The authority shall not pledge the credit or taxing power of the state or any political subdivision thereof, except such tax receipts as may be authorized under this section or pledged under section 18-2150, or place any lien or encumbrance on any property owned by the state, county, or city used by the authority.

Source:Laws 1951, c. 224, § 10(1), p. 811; R.R.S.1943, § 14-1624; Laws 1961, c. 61, § 13, p. 238; R.R.S.1943, § 19-2624; Laws 1979, LB 158, § 5; Laws 2012, LB729, § 3; Laws 2021, LB163, § 135.

Neither the members of an authority nor any person executing the bonds shall be liable personally on the bonds by reason of the issuance thereof. The bonds and other obligations of the authority, and such bonds and obligations shall so state on their face, shall not be a debt of the city and the city shall not be liable on such bonds, except to the extent authorized by sections 18-2147 to 18-2150, nor in any event shall such bonds or obligations be payable out of any funds or properties other than those of said authority acquired for the purposes of the Community Development Law, except to the extent authorized by sections 18-2147 to 18-2150. Except to the extent otherwise authorized, the bonds shall not constitute an indebtedness within the meaning of any constitutional or statutory debt limitation or restriction. Bonds of an authority are declared to be issued for an essential public and governmental purpose and to be public instrumentalities and, together with interest thereon and income therefrom, shall be exempt from all taxes. All bonds shall be general obligations of the authority issuing same and shall be payable out of any revenue, income, receipts, proceeds, or other money of the authority, except as may be otherwise provided in the instruments themselves.

An authority shall have power from time to time to issue bond anticipation notes, referred to as notes herein, and from time to time to issue renewal notes, such notes in any case to mature not later than thirty months from the date of incurring the indebtedness represented thereby in an amount not exceeding in the aggregate at any time outstanding the amount of bonds then or theretofore authorized. Payment of such notes shall be made from any money or revenue which the authority may have available for such purpose or from the proceeds of the sale of bonds of the authority, or such notes may be exchanged for a like amount of such bonds. The authority may pledge such money or revenue of the authority, subject to prior pledges thereof, if any, for the payment of such notes, and may in addition secure the notes in the same manner as herein provided for bonds. All notes shall be issued and sold in the same manner as bonds, and any authority shall have power to make contracts for the future sale from time to time of notes on terms and conditions stated in such contracts, and the authority shall have power to pay such consideration as it shall deem proper for any commitments to purchase notes and bonds in the future. Such notes shall also be collaterally secured by pledges and deposits with a bank or trust company, in trust for the payment of such notes, of bonds in an aggregate amount at least equal to the amount of such notes and, in any event, in an amount deemed by the issuing authority sufficient to provide for the payment of the notes in full at the maturity thereof. The authority may provide in the collateral agreement that the notes may be exchanged for bonds held as collateral security for the notes, or that the trustee may sell the bonds if the notes are not otherwise paid at maturity, and apply the proceeds of such sale to the payment of the notes. Such notes shall bear interest at a rate set by the authority, and shall be sold at such price as shall cause an interest cost thereon not to exceed such rate.

It is the intention hereof that any pledge of revenue, income, receipts, proceeds, or other money made by an authority for the payment of bonds or notes shall be valid and binding from the time such pledge is made; that the revenue, income, receipts, proceeds, and other money so pledged and thereafter received by the authority shall immediately be subject to the lien of such pledge without the physical delivery thereof or further act, and that the lien of any such pledge shall be valid and binding as against all parties having claims of any kind in tort, contract, or otherwise against the authority irrespective of whether such parties have notice thereof. Neither the resolution nor any other instrument by which a pledge is created need be recorded.

Source:Laws 1951, c. 224, § 10(2), p. 811; R.R.S.1943, § 14-1625; Laws 1961, c. 61, § 14, p. 239; R.R.S.1943, § 19-2625; Laws 1969, c. 51, § 70, p. 317; Laws 1979, LB 158, § 6; Laws 2018, LB874, § 21.

Bonds of an authority shall be authorized by its resolution and may be issued in one or more series and shall bear such date or dates, be payable upon demand or mature at such time or times, bear interest at such rate or rates, be in such denomination or denominations, be in such form either coupon or registered, carry such conversion or registration privileges, have such rank or priority, be executed in such manner, be payable in such medium of payment, at such place or places, and be subject to such terms of redemption, with or without premium, as such resolution, its trust indenture, or mortgage may provide.

The bonds may be sold by the authority in such manner and for such price as the authority may determine, at par or above par, at private sale or at public sale after notice published prior to such sale in a legal newspaper having general circulation in the municipality, or in such other medium of publication as the authority may deem appropriate, or may be exchanged by the authority for other bonds issued by it under the Community Development Law. Bonds which are issued under this section may be sold by the authority to the federal government at private sale at par or above par, and, in the event that less than all of the authorized principal amount of such bonds is sold by the authority to the federal government, the balance or any portion of the balance may be sold by the authority at private sale at par or above par.

In case any of the members or officers of the authority whose signatures appear on any bonds or coupons shall cease to be such members or officers before the delivery of such bonds, such signatures shall, nevertheless, be valid and sufficient for all purposes, the same as if such members or officers had remained in office until such delivery. Any provision of any law to the contrary notwithstanding, any bonds issued pursuant to the provisions of section 18-2124 shall be fully negotiable.

In any suit, action, or proceedings involving the validity or enforceability of any bond of an authority or the security therefor, any such bond reciting in substance that it has been issued by the authority to aid in financing a redevelopment project, as herein defined, shall be conclusively deemed to have been issued for such purpose and such project shall be conclusively deemed to have been planned, located, and carried out in accordance with the purposes and provisions of the Community Development Law.

Annotations

Any suit, action, or proceeding brought outside the 30-day period in section 18-2142.01 is subject to the conclusive presumption of this section and section 18-2142.01 as long as the action is one challenging the validity or enforceability of a redevelopment bond or contract and the bond or contract recites in substance the language required by the two sections. Salem Grain Co. v. City of Falls City, 302 Neb. 548, 924 N.W.2d 678 (2019).

In connection with the issuance of bonds or the incurring of obligations under leases and in order to secure the payment of such bonds or obligations, an authority, in addition to its other powers, shall have power: (1) To pledge all or any part of its gross or net rents, fees, or revenue to which its right then exists or may thereafter come into existence; (2) to mortgage all or any part of its real or personal property, then owned or thereafter acquired; (3) to covenant against pledging all or any part of its rents, fees, and revenue, or against mortgaging all or any part of its real or personal property, to which its right or title then exists or may thereafter come into existence, or against permitting or suffering any lien on such revenue or property; to covenant with respect to limitations on its right to sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of any redevelopment project, or any part thereof; and to covenant as to what other or additional debts or obligations may be incurred by it; (4) to covenant as to the bonds to be issued and as to the issuance of such bonds in escrow or otherwise, and as to the use and disposition of the proceeds thereof; to provide for the replacement of lost, destroyed, or mutilated bonds; to covenant against extending the time for the payment of its bonds or interest thereon; and to covenant for the redemption of the bonds and to provide the terms and conditions thereof; (5) to covenant, subject to the limitations contained in the Community Development Law, as to the amount of revenue to be raised each year or other period of time by rents, fees, and other revenue, and as to the use and disposition to be made thereof; to establish or to authorize the establishment of special funds for money held for operating costs, debt service, reserves, or other purposes, and to covenant as to the use and disposition of the money held in such funds; (6) to prescribe the procedure, if any, by which the terms of any contract with bondholders may be amended or abrogated, the amount of bonds the holders of which must consent thereto and the manner in which such consent may be given; (7) to covenant as to the use, maintenance, and replacement of any or all of its real or personal property, the insurance to be carried thereon, and the use and disposition of insurance money, and to warrant its title to such property; (8) to covenant as to the rights, liabilities, powers, and duties arising upon the breach by it of any covenants, conditions, or obligations; and to covenant and prescribe as to events of default and terms and conditions upon which any or all of its bonds or obligations shall become or may be declared due before maturity, and as to the terms and conditions upon which such declaration and its consequences may be waived; (9) to vest in any obligees of the authority the right to enforce the payment of the bonds or any covenants securing or relating to the bonds; to vest in any obligee or obligees holding a specified amount in bonds the right, in the event of a default by the authority, to take possession of and use, operate, and manage any redevelopment project or any part thereof, title to which is in the authority, or any funds connected therewith, and to collect the rents and revenue arising therefrom and to dispose of such money in accordance with the agreement of the authority with such obligees; to provide for the powers and duties of such obligees and to limit the liabilities thereof; and to provide the terms and conditions upon which such obligees may enforce any covenant or rights securing or relating to the bonds; (10) to pledge all of the revenue from any occupation tax received or to be received with respect to any enhanced employment area; and (11) to exercise all or any part or combination of the powers herein granted; to make such covenants, other than and in addition to the covenants herein expressly authorized, and to do any and all such acts and things as may be necessary or convenient or desirable in order to secure its bonds, or, in the absolute discretion of the authority, as will tend to make the bonds more marketable notwithstanding that such covenants, acts, or things may not be enumerated herein.

An authority may by resolution, trust indenture, mortgage, lease, or other instrument confer upon any obligee holding or representing a specified amount in bonds, the right, in addition to all rights that may otherwise be conferred, upon the happening of an event of default as defined in such resolution or instruments, by suit, action, or proceeding in any court of competent jurisdiction: (1) To cause possession of any redevelopment project or any part thereof, title to which is in the authority, to be surrendered to any such obligee; (2) to obtain the appointment of a receiver of any redevelopment project of such authority or any part thereof, title to which is in the authority, and of the rents and profits therefrom. If such receiver be appointed, the receiver may enter and take possession of, carry out, operate, and maintain such project or any part thereof and collect and receive all fees, rents, revenue, or other charges thereafter arising from such project, and shall keep such money in a separate account or accounts and apply the same in accordance with the obligations of such authority as the court shall direct; and (3) to require the authority and the members, officers, agents, and employees thereof to account as if it and they were the trustees of an express trust.

An obligee of an authority shall have the right in addition to all other rights which may be conferred upon such obligee, subject only to any contractual restrictions binding upon such obligee:

(1) By mandamus, suit, action, or proceeding at law or in equity to compel such authority and the members, officers, agents, or employees thereof to perform each and every term, provision, and covenant contained in any contract of such authority with or for the benefit of such obligee, and to require the carrying out of any or all such covenants and agreements to the authority and the fulfillment of all duties imposed upon the authority by the Community Development Law; and

(2) By suit, action, or proceeding in equity to enjoin any acts or things which may be unlawful, or the violation of any of the rights of such obligee of the authority.

All public officers, municipal corporations, political subdivisions, and public bodies; all banks, trust companies, bankers, savings banks and institutions, building and loan associations, savings and loan associations, investment companies, and other persons carrying on a banking business; all insurance companies, insurance associations, and other persons carrying on an insurance business; and all executors, administrators, curators, trustees, and other fiduciaries may legally invest any sinking funds, money, or other funds belonging to them or within their control in any bonds or other obligations issued by an authority pursuant to the Community Development Law or by any public housing or redevelopment authority or commission, or agency or any other public body in the United States for redevelopment purposes, when such bonds and other obligations are secured by an agreement between the issuing agency and the federal government in which the issuing agency agrees to borrow from the federal government and the federal government agrees to lend to the issuing agency, prior to the maturity of such bonds or other obligations, money in an amount which, together with any other money irrevocably committed to the payment of interest on such bonds or other obligations, will suffice to pay the principal of such bonds or other obligations with interest to maturity thereon, which money under the terms of the agreement is required to be used for the purpose of paying the principal of and the interest on such bonds or other obligations at their maturity, and such bonds and other obligations shall be authorized security for all public deposits. It is the purpose of this section to authorize any persons, political subdivisions, and officers, public or private, to use any funds owned or controlled by them for the purchase of any such bonds or other obligations. However, nothing contained in this section with regard to legal investments shall be construed as relieving any person of any duty of exercising reasonable care in the selection of securities.

In any contract for financial assistance with the federal government, an authority may obligate itself, which obligation shall be specifically enforceable and shall not constitute a mortgage, notwithstanding any other laws, to convey to the federal government possession of or title to a redevelopment project and land therein to which such contract relates which is owned by the authority, upon the occurrence of a substantial default, as defined in such contract, with respect to the covenants or conditions to which the authority is subject. Such contract may further provide that in case of such conveyance, the federal government may complete, operate, manage, lease, convey, or otherwise deal with the redevelopment project in accordance with the terms of such contract, if the contract requires that, as soon as practicable after the federal government is satisfied that all defaults with respect to the redevelopment project have been cured and that the redevelopment project will thereafter be operated in accordance with the terms of the contract, the federal government shall reconvey to the authority the redevelopment project as then constituted.

All property including funds of an authority shall be exempt from levy and sale by virtue of an execution, and no execution or other judicial process shall issue against such property nor shall judgment against an authority be a charge or lien upon its property. The provisions of this section shall not apply to or limit the right of obligees to foreclose or otherwise enforce any mortgage of an authority or the right of obligees to pursue any remedies for the enforcement of any pledge or lien given by an authority on its rents, fees, grants, or revenue.

The property of an authority is declared to be public property used for essential public and governmental purposes and shall be exempt from all taxes. Whenever such authority shall purchase or acquire real property pursuant to the Community Development Law, the authority shall annually, so long as it shall continue to own such property, pay out of its revenue to the State of Nebraska, county, city, township, school district, or other taxing subdivision in which such real property is located, in lieu of taxes, a sum equal to the amount which such state, county, city, township, school district or other taxing subdivision received from taxation from such real property during the year immediately preceding the purchase or acquisition of such real property by the authority. The county board of equalization may, in any year subsequent to the purchase or acquisition of such property by the authority, determine the amount that said authority shall pay out of its revenue to the State of Nebraska and its several governmental subdivisions in lieu of taxes, which sum shall be as justice and equity may require, notwithstanding the amount which the state and its governmental subdivisions may have received from taxation during the year immediately preceding the purchase or acquisition of such property. With respect to any property in a redevelopment project, the tax exemption provided herein shall terminate when the authority sells, leases, or otherwise disposes of such property to a redeveloper for redevelopment. The members of the authority shall not incur any personal liability by reason of the making of such payments.

In addition to any other provisions governing any public body set forth in the Community Development Law, for the purpose of aiding and cooperating in the planning, undertaking, or carrying out of a redevelopment project located within the area in which it is authorized to act, any public body may, upon such terms, with or without consideration, as it may determine: (1) Dedicate, sell, convey, or lease any of its interest in any property, or grant easements, licenses, or any other rights or privileges therein to an authority; (2) cause parks, playgrounds, recreational, community, educational, water, sewer or drainage facilities, or any other works which it is otherwise empowered to undertake, to be furnished in connection with a redevelopment project; (3) furnish, dedicate, close, vacate, pave, install, grade, regrade, plan, or replan streets, roads, sidewalks, ways, or other places, which it is otherwise empowered to undertake; (4) plan or replan, zone or rezone any part of the public body, or make exceptions from building regulations and ordinances if such functions are of the character which the public body is otherwise empowered to perform; (5) cause administrative and other services to be furnished to the authority of the character which the public body is otherwise empowered to undertake or furnish for the same or other purposes; (6) incur the entire expense of any public improvements made by such public body in exercising the powers granted in this section; (7) do any and all things necessary or convenient to aid and cooperate in the planning or carrying out of a redevelopment plan; (8) lend, grant, or contribute funds to an authority; (9) employ any funds belonging to or within the control of such public body, including funds derived from the sale or furnishing of property, service, or facilities to an authority, in the purchase of the bonds or other obligations of an authority and, as the holder of such bonds or other obligations, exercise the rights connected therewith; and (10) enter into agreements, which may extend over any period, notwithstanding any provision or rule of law to the contrary, with an authority respecting action to be taken by such public body pursuant to any of the powers granted by the Community Development Law. If at any time title to, or possession of, any redevelopment project is held by any public body or governmental agency, other than the authority, authorized by law to engage in the undertaking, carrying out or administration of redevelopment projects, including any agency or instrumentality of the United States of America, the provisions of such agreements shall inure to the benefit of and may be enforced by such public body or governmental agency.

Any sale, conveyance, lease, or agreement provided for in section 18-2138 may be made by a public body without appraisal, public notice, advertisement, or public bidding.

An authority may, at such time as it may deem necessary, file with the governing body an estimate of the amounts necessary to be appropriated by the governing body to defray the expense of the authority. The governing body of such city is hereby authorized, in its discretion, to appropriate from its general fund and to place at the disposal of the authority an amount sufficient to assist in defraying such expense. Any city located within the area of operation of an authority may grant funds to an authority for the purpose of aiding such authority in carrying out any of its powers and functions under the Community Development Law. To obtain funds for this purpose, the city may levy taxes and may issue and sell its bonds. Any bonds to be issued by the city pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be issued in the manner and within the limitations, except as otherwise provided by the Community Development Law, prescribed by the laws of this state for the issuance and authorization of bonds by a city for any public purpose.

Any instrument executed by an authority and purporting to convey any right, title, or interest in any property under the Community Development Law shall be conclusive evidence of compliance with the Community Development Law insofar as title or other interest of any bona fide purchasers, lessees, or other transferees of such property is concerned.

(1) In any suit, action, or proceeding involving the validity or enforceability of any bond of a city, village, or authority or the security therefor brought after the lapse of thirty days after the issuance of such bonds has been authorized, any such bond reciting in substance that it has been authorized by the city, village, or authority to aid in financing a redevelopment project shall be conclusively deemed to have been authorized for such purpose and such redevelopment project shall be conclusively deemed to have been planned, located, and carried out in accordance with the purposes and provisions of the Community Development Law.

(2) In any suit, action, or proceeding involving the validity or enforceability of any agreement of a city, village, or authority brought after the lapse of thirty days after the agreement has been formally entered into, any such agreement reciting in substance that it has been entered into by the city, village, or authority to provide financing for an approved redevelopment project shall be conclusively deemed to have been entered into for such purpose and such project shall be conclusively deemed to have been planned, located, and carried out in accordance with the purposes and provisions of the Community Development Law.

Annotations

Any suit, action, or proceeding brought outside the 30-day period in this section is subject to the conclusive presumption of section 18-2129 and this section as long as the action is one challenging the validity or enforceability of a redevelopment bond or contract and the bond or contract recites in substance the language required by the two sections. Salem Grain Co. v. City of Falls City, 302 Neb. 548, 924 N.W.2d 678 (2019).
Subsection (2) of this section requires that a party wishing to challenge a contract that provides financing for an approved redevelopment project initiate any suit, action, or challenge within 30 days of the party's formally entering into the contract; after 30 days, the project shall be conclusively deemed to have complied with Nebraska's community development laws. Community Dev. Agency v. PRP Holdings, 277 Neb. 1015, 767 N.W.2d 68 (2009).

A city may levy a general business occupation tax upon the businesses and users of space within an enhanced employment area for the purpose of paying all or any part of the costs and expenses of any redevelopment project within such enhanced employment area. After March 27, 2014, any occupation tax imposed pursuant to this section shall make a reasonable classification of businesses, users of space, or kinds of transactions for purposes of imposing such tax, except that no occupation tax shall be imposed on any transaction which is subject to tax under section 53-160, 66-489, 66-489.02, 66-4,140, 66-4,145, 66-4,146, 77-2602, or 77-4008 or which is exempt from tax under section 77-2704.24. The collection of a tax imposed pursuant to this section shall be made and enforced in such a manner as the governing body shall by ordinance determine to produce the required revenue. The governing body may provide that failure to pay the tax imposed pursuant to this section shall constitute a violation of the ordinance and subject the violator to a fine or other punishment as provided by ordinance. Any such occupation tax agreed to by the authority and the city shall remain in effect so long as the authority has bonds outstanding which have been issued stating such occupation tax as an available source for payment.

Eminent domain shall not be used to acquire property that will be transferred to a private party in the enhanced employment area.

(a) Authorized work means the performance of any one or more of the following purposes within an enhanced employment area designated pursuant to this section:

(i) The acquisition, construction, maintenance, and operation of public offstreet parking facilities for the benefit of the enhanced employment area;

(ii) Improvement of any public place or facility in the enhanced employment area, including landscaping, physical improvements for decoration or security purposes, and plantings;

(iii) Construction or installation of pedestrian shopping malls or plazas, sidewalks or moving sidewalks, parks, meeting and display facilities, bus stop shelters, lighting, benches or other seating furniture, sculptures, trash receptacles, shelters, fountains, skywalks, and pedestrian and vehicular overpasses and underpasses, and any useful or necessary public improvements;

(iv) Leasing, acquiring, constructing, reconstructing, extending, maintaining, or repairing parking lots or parking garages, both above and below ground, or other facilities for the parking of vehicles, including the power to install such facilities in public areas, whether such areas are owned in fee or by easement, in the enhanced employment area;

(v) Creation and implementation of a plan for improving the general architectural design of public areas in the enhanced employment area;

(vi) The development of any public activities and promotion of public events, including the management, promotion, and advocacy of retail trade activities or other promotional activities, in the enhanced employment area;

(vii) Maintenance, repair, and reconstruction of any improvements or facilities authorized by the Community Development Law;

(viii) Any other project or undertaking for the betterment of the public facilities in the enhanced employment area, whether the project is capital or noncapital in nature;

(ix) Enforcement of parking regulations and the provision of security within the enhanced employment area; or

(x) Employing or contracting for personnel, including administrators for any improvement program under the Community Development Law, and providing for any service as may be necessary or proper to carry out the purposes of the Community Development Law;

(b) Employee means a person employed at a business located within an enhanced employment area; and

(c) Number of new employees means the number of equivalent employees that are employed at a business located within an enhanced employment area designated pursuant to this section during a year that are in excess of the number of equivalent employees during the year immediately prior to the year the enhanced employment area was designated pursuant to this section.

(2) If an area is not blighted or substandard, a city may designate an area as an enhanced employment area if the governing body determines that new investment within such enhanced employment area will result in at least (a) two new employees and new investment of one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars in counties with fewer than fifteen thousand inhabitants, (b) five new employees and new investment of two hundred fifty thousand dollars in counties with at least fifteen thousand inhabitants but fewer than twenty-five thousand inhabitants, (c) ten new employees and new investment of five hundred thousand dollars in counties with at least twenty-five thousand inhabitants but fewer than fifty thousand inhabitants, (d) fifteen new employees and new investment of one million dollars in counties with at least fifty thousand inhabitants but fewer than one hundred thousand inhabitants, (e) twenty new employees and new investment of one million five hundred thousand dollars in counties with at least one hundred thousand inhabitants but fewer than two hundred thousand inhabitants, (f) twenty-five new employees and new investment of two million dollars in counties with at least two hundred thousand inhabitants but fewer than four hundred thousand inhabitants, or (g) thirty new employees and new investment of three million dollars in counties with at least four hundred thousand inhabitants. Any business that has one hundred thirty-five thousand square feet or more and annual gross sales of ten million dollars or more shall provide an employer-provided health benefit of at least three thousand dollars annually to all new employees who are working thirty hours per week or more on average and have been employed at least six months. In making such determination, the governing body may rely upon written undertakings provided by any owner of property within such area.

(3) Upon designation of an enhanced employment area under this section, a city may levy a general business occupation tax upon the businesses and users of space within such enhanced employment area for the purpose of paying all or any part of the costs and expenses of authorized work within such enhanced employment area. After March 27, 2014, any occupation tax imposed pursuant to this section shall make a reasonable classification of businesses, users of space, or kinds of transactions for purposes of imposing such tax, except that no occupation tax shall be imposed on any transaction which is subject to tax under section 53-160, 66-489, 66-489.02, 66-4,140, 66-4,145, 66-4,146, 77-2602, or 77-4008 or which is exempt from tax under section 77-2704.24. The collection of a tax imposed pursuant to this section shall be made and enforced in such a manner as the governing body shall by ordinance determine to produce the required revenue. The governing body may provide that failure to pay the tax imposed pursuant to this section shall constitute a violation of the ordinance and subject the violator to a fine or other punishment as provided by ordinance. Any occupation tax levied by the city under this section shall remain in effect so long as the city has bonds outstanding which have been issued under the authority of this section and are secured by such occupation tax or that state such occupation tax as an available source for payment. The total amount of occupation taxes levied shall not exceed the total costs and expenses of the authorized work including the total debt service requirements of any bonds the proceeds of which are expended for or allocated to such authorized work. The assessments or taxes levied must be specified by ordinance and the proceeds shall not be used for any purpose other than the making of such improvements and for the repayment of bonds issued in whole or in part for the financing of such improvements. The authority to levy the general business occupation tax contained in this section and the authority to issue bonds secured by or payable from such occupation tax shall be independent of and separate from any occupation tax referenced in section 18-2103.

(4) A city may issue revenue bonds for the purpose of defraying the cost of authorized work and to secure the payment of such bonds with the occupation tax revenue described in this section. Such revenue bonds may be issued in one or more series or issues where deemed advisable, and each such series or issue may contain different maturity dates, interest rates, priorities on revenue available for payment of such bonds and priorities on securities available for guaranteeing payment thereof, and such other differing terms and conditions as are deemed necessary. The following shall apply to any such bonds:

(a) Such bonds shall be limited obligations of the city. Bonds and interest on such bonds, issued under the authority of this section, shall not constitute nor give rise to a pecuniary liability of the city or a charge against its general credit or taxing powers. Such limitation shall be plainly stated upon the face of each of such bonds;

(b) Such bonds may (i) be executed and delivered at any time and from time to time, (ii) be in such form and denominations, (iii) be of such tenor, (iv) be payable in such installments and at such time or times not exceeding twenty years from their date, (v) be payable at such place or places, (vi) bear interest at such rate or rates, payable at such place or places, and evidenced in such manner, (vii) be redeemable prior to maturity, with or without premium, and (viii) contain such provisions as shall be deemed in the best interest of the city and provided for in the proceedings of the governing body under which the bonds shall be authorized to be issued;

(c) The authorization, terms, issuance, execution, or delivery of such bonds shall not be subject to sections 10-101 to 10-126; and

(d) Such bonds may be sold at public or private sale in such manner and at such time or times as may be determined by the governing body to be most advantageous. The city may pay all expenses, premiums, and commissions which the governing body may deem necessary or advantageous in connection with the authorization, sale, and issuance thereof from the proceeds or the sale of the bonds or from the revenue of the occupation tax described in this section.

Prior to approving a redevelopment project that expressly carries out the construction of workforce housing, a governing body shall (1) receive a housing study which is current within twenty-four months for any city of the metropolitan class or current within sixty months for any other city or village, (2) prepare an incentive plan for construction of housing in the municipality targeted to house existing or new workers, (3) hold a public hearing on such incentive plan with notice which complies with the conditions set forth in section 18-2115.01, and (4) after the public hearing find that such incentive plan is necessary to prevent the spread of blight and substandard conditions within the municipality, will promote additional safe and suitable housing for individuals and families employed in the municipality, and will not result in the unjust enrichment of any individual or company. A public hearing held under this section shall be separate from any public hearing held under section 18-2115.

The powers conferred by the Community Development Law shall be in addition and supplemental to the powers conferred by any other law and shall be independent of and in addition to any other provision of the laws of the State of Nebraska with reference to the matters covered in the Community Development Law and shall be considered as a complete and independent act and not as amendatory of or limited by any other provision of the laws of the State of Nebraska. Notwithstanding any other evidence of legislative intent, it is hereby declared to be the controlling legislative intent that if any provision of the Community Development Law, or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held unconstitutional or invalid, it shall not affect the other provisions of the Community Development Law or the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances. The Community Development Law and all grants of power, authority, rights, or discretion made to a city and to an authority created under the Community Development Law shall be liberally construed, and all incidental powers necessary to carry into effect the Community Development Law are hereby expressly granted to and conferred upon a city or an authority created pursuant thereto.

The Community Development Law shall be full authority for the creation of a community redevelopment authority by a city or village, and for the exercise of the powers therein granted to a city or village and to such authority, and shall also be full authority for the creation of a community development agency by a city or village, and for the exercise of the powers therein granted to a city or village for such purpose, and no action, proceeding, or election shall be required prior to the creation of a community redevelopment authority or community development agency or to authorize the exercise of any of the powers granted in the Community Development Law, except as specifically provided in the Community Development Law, any provision of law or of any city charter or village law to the contrary notwithstanding.

No proceedings for the issuance of bonds of an authority or of a city or village for its community development agency shall be required other than those required by the Community Development Law; and the provisions of all other laws and city charters, if any, relative to the terms and conditions for the issuance, payment, redemption, registration, sale or delivery of bonds of public bodies, corporations, or political subdivisions of this state shall not be applicable to bonds issued by an authority pursuant to the Community Development Law.

Insofar as the provisions of the Community Development Law are inconsistent with the provisions of any other law or of any city charter, if any, the provisions of the Community Development Law shall be controlling.

The provisions of the Community Development Law that are not in conflict with the provisions relating to limited community redevelopment authorities and that are necessary or convenient to carry out the powers expressly conferred upon limited community redevelopment authorities shall apply to limited community redevelopment authorities.

Each city and village shall adopt a minimum standards housing ordinance if such city or village has completed an approved workable program or is in the process of the preparation of such a program.

(1) Any redevelopment plan as originally approved or as later modified pursuant to section 18-2117 may contain a provision that any ad valorem tax levied upon real property, or any portion thereof, in a redevelopment project for the benefit of any public body shall be divided, for the applicable period described in subsection (4) of this section, as follows:

(a) That portion of the ad valorem tax which is produced by the levy at the rate fixed each year by or for each such public body upon the redevelopment project valuation shall be paid into the funds of each such public body in the same proportion as are all other taxes collected by or for the body. When there is not a redevelopment project valuation on a parcel or parcels, the county assessor shall determine the redevelopment project valuation based upon the fair market valuation of the parcel or parcels as of January 1 of the year prior to the year that the ad valorem taxes are to be divided. The county assessor shall provide written notice of the redevelopment project valuation to the authority as defined in section 18-2103 and the owner. The authority or owner may protest the valuation to the county board of equalization within thirty days after the date of the valuation notice. All provisions of section 77-1502 except dates for filing of a protest, the period for hearing protests, and the date for mailing notice of the county board of equalization's decision are applicable to any protest filed pursuant to this section. The county board of equalization shall decide any protest filed pursuant to this section within thirty days after the filing of the protest. The county clerk shall mail a copy of the decision made by the county board of equalization on protests pursuant to this section to the authority or owner within seven days after the board's decision. Any decision of the county board of equalization may be appealed to the Tax Equalization and Review Commission, in accordance with section 77-5013, within thirty days after the date of the decision;

(b) That portion of the ad valorem tax on real property, as provided in the redevelopment contract, bond resolution, or redevelopment plan, as applicable, in the redevelopment project in excess of such amount, if any, shall be allocated to and, when collected, paid into a special fund of the authority to be used solely to pay the principal of, the interest on, and any premiums due in connection with the bonds of, loans, notes, or advances of money to, or indebtedness incurred by, whether funded, refunded, assumed, or otherwise, such authority for financing or refinancing, in whole or in part, the redevelopment project. When such bonds, loans, notes, advances of money, or indebtedness, including interest and premiums due, have been paid, the authority shall so notify the county assessor and county treasurer and all ad valorem taxes upon taxable real property in such a redevelopment project shall be paid into the funds of the respective public bodies. An authority may use a single fund for purposes of this subdivision for all redevelopment projects or may use a separate fund for each redevelopment project; and

(c) Any interest and penalties due for delinquent taxes shall be paid into the funds of each public body in the same proportion as are all other taxes collected by or for the public body.

(2) To the extent that a redevelopment plan authorizes the division of ad valorem taxes levied upon only a portion of the real property included in such redevelopment plan, any improvements funded by such division of taxes shall be related to the redevelopment plan that authorized such division of taxes.

(3)(a) For any redevelopment plan located in a city of the metropolitan class that includes a division of taxes, as provided in this section, that produces, in whole or in part, funds to be used directly or indirectly for (i) new construction, rehabilitation, or acquisition of housing for households with annual incomes below the area median income for households and located within six hundred yards of a public passenger streetcar or (ii) new construction, rehabilitation, or acquisition of single-family housing or condominium housing used as primary residences for individuals with annual incomes below the area median income for individuals, such housing shall be deemed related to the redevelopment plan that authorized such division of taxes regardless of whether such housing is or will be located on real property within such redevelopment plan, as long as such housing supports activities occurring on or identified in such redevelopment plan.

(b) During each fiscal year in which the funds described in subdivision (a) of this subsection are available, the authority and city shall make best efforts to allocate not less than thirty percent of such funds to single-family housing deemed related to the redevelopment plan described under such subdivision.

(c) In selecting projects to receive funding, the authority and city shall develop a qualified allocation plan and give first priority to financially viable projects that serve the lowest income occupants for the longest period of time.

(4)(a) For any redevelopment plan for which more than fifty percent of the property in the redevelopment project area has been declared an extremely blighted area in accordance with section 18-2101.02, ad valorem taxes shall be divided for a period not to exceed twenty years after the effective date as identified in the project redevelopment contract or in the resolution of the authority authorizing the issuance of bonds pursuant to section 18-2124.

(b) For all other redevelopment plans, ad valorem taxes shall be divided for a period not to exceed fifteen years after the effective date as identified in the project redevelopment contract, in the resolution of the authority authorizing the issuance of bonds pursuant to section 18-2124, or in the redevelopment plan, whichever is applicable.

(5) The effective date of a provision dividing ad valorem taxes as provided in subsection (4) of this section shall not occur until such time as the real property in the redevelopment project is within the corporate boundaries of the city. This subsection shall not apply to a redevelopment project involving a formerly used defense site as authorized in section 18-2123.01.

(6) Beginning August 1, 2006, all notices of the provision for dividing ad valorem taxes shall be sent by the authority to the county assessor on forms prescribed by the Property Tax Administrator. The notice shall be sent to the county assessor on or before August 1 of the year of the effective date of the provision. Failure to satisfy the notice requirement of this section shall result in the taxes, for all taxable years affected by the failure to give notice of the effective date of the provision, remaining undivided and being paid into the funds for each public body receiving property taxes generated by the property in the redevelopment project. However, the redevelopment project valuation for the remaining division of ad valorem taxes in accordance with subdivisions (1)(a) and (b) of this section shall be the last certified valuation for the taxable year prior to the effective date of the provision to divide the taxes for the remaining portion of the twenty-year or fifteen-year period pursuant to subsection (4) of this section.

Source:Laws 1979, LB 158, § 10; Laws 1997, LB 875, § 14; Laws 1999, LB 194, § 2; Laws 2002, LB 994, § 2; Laws 2006, LB 808, § 2; Laws 2006, LB 1175, § 2; Laws 2011, LB54, § 1; Laws 2013, LB66, § 4; Laws 2018, LB874, § 34; Laws 2020, LB1021, § 15; Laws 2021, LB25, § 2; Laws 2022, LB1065, § 3; Laws 2023, LB531, § 17.
Operative Date: June 7, 2023

The Department of Economic Development shall, to the extent that funds are appropriated for such purpose, reimburse applying cities or villages for the fees paid by such cities or villages for the use of the cost-benefit analysis model, developed and approved by the Legislature, for projects using funds authorized by section 18-2147.

Commencing on the effective date of the provision outlined in section 18-2147, the county assessor, or county clerk where he or she is ex officio county assessor, of the county in which the redevelopment project is located, shall transmit to an authority and the county treasurer, upon request of the authority, the redevelopment project valuation and shall annually certify, on or before August 20, to the authority and the county treasurer the current valuation for assessment of taxable real property in the redevelopment project. The county assessor shall undertake, upon request of an authority, an investigation, examination, and inspection of the taxable real property in the redevelopment project and shall reaffirm or revalue the current value for assessment of such property in accordance with the findings of such investigation, examination, and inspection.

Annotations

A mandamus action is an appropriate remedy for a redevelopment authority that believes that a county assessor has not complied with his or her duty under this section to transmit a redevelopment project valuation. Community Redev. Auth. v. Gizinski, 16 Neb. App. 504, 745 N.W.2d 616 (2008).

In each year after the determination of a redevelopment project valuation as outlined in section 18-2148, the county assessor and the county board of equalization shall include no more than the redevelopment project valuation of the taxable real property in the redevelopment project in the assessed valuation upon which is computed the tax rates levied by any public body on such project. In each year for which the current assessed valuation on taxable real property in the redevelopment project exceeds the redevelopment project valuation, the county treasurer shall remit to the authority, instead of to any public body, that proportion of all ad valorem taxes on real property paid that year on the redevelopment project which such excess valuation bears to the current assessed valuation.

If the current assessed valuation on taxable real property in the redevelopment project is less than the redevelopment project valuation, the current assessed valuation shall be the value assessable to the public bodies for the current year and there will be no excess valuation or tax proceeds available to the redevelopment project. The redevelopment project valuation shall be reinstated when the current assessed valuation on taxable real property in the redevelopment project is equal to or greater than the redevelopment project valuation.

In the proceedings for the issuance of bonds, the making of loans or advances of money, or the incurring of any indebtedness, whether funded, refunded, assumed, or otherwise, by an authority to finance or refinance, in whole or in part, a redevelopment project, the portion of taxes mentioned in subdivision (1)(b) of section 18-2147 shall be pledged for the payment of the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on such bonds, loans, notes, advances, or indebtedness.