Right Start Right Start meetings are informal gatherings with the City of Statesboro’s staff to discuss future land development projects. The meetings are the first step in the development process for a developer or builder. The program is intended to streamline projects by reviewing concepts and identifying potential problems or concerns before significant time has been committed to the design of the potential business. Another goal of Right Start is to eliminate avoidable delays in construction due to those concerns. A potential developer can get a head start by meeting with the City’s Engi-
Tax Allocation Districts The passing of the Redevelopment Powers Act by City of Statesboro voters authorizes the local government to form one or more TAD districts. The City must adopt a map designating TAD boundaries and prepare a Redevelopment Plan to act as the business plan for the operation of the district. A taxable value is certified as the base value of the district and any tax revenue collected from improvements to the property goes into a fund set aside for improvements to blighted areas or to incentivize projects. TADs are often used to help pay for demoli40 • January/February 2015
Right Start meetings are held by the neering, Planning and Development, Public Works, Water/Waste Water, Natural Gas, City’s Planning and Development Departand Fire Departments all at once to review ment every Thursday afternoon beginning project plans. All of the stakeholders in the at 1:30 p.m. in the Development Annex development process are welcome at the (adjacent to City Hall) at 58-A East Main Right Start table. Those may include archi- Street. Participation in Right Start is tects, engineers, developers, and individual not mandatory for a new development or project, but it is very advantageous to use property owners. “Our goal is for prospects to walk out of the process and the City strongly encourthe meeting knowing every member of the ages customers to attend. Those designing a new residential or City’s team. We also assign each project a manager to coordinate between the devel- commercial development, getting ready to oper and the City during construction. We add on to or expand an existing business, or want the developer’s project to be completely contemplating a development project will vetted when he leaves our meeting,” stated benefit from a Right Start Meeting with the City of Statesboro development staff. City Planner Mandi Cody.
Examples of developments that would benefit from a Right Start Meeting • Major and minor subdivisions • Commercial developments • Residential developments • Major remodeling • Building expansions • Business start-ups • Retail developments
tion of existing older buildings, expensive water or sewer upgrades, parking structures, new roads, streetscape improvements, or other extra costs that otherwise make private redevelopment financially unfeasible. Once the TAD is created and the consent agreements are in place, the local government can then evaluate applications from private developers who wish to undertake redevelopment projects and access TAD funds to help defray project costs. If a local government agrees to contribute TAD funds to a project, the terms are negotiated in an agreement with the developer. The “development agreement” specifies the obligations and performance requirements of the developer in order to qualify to receive the funds, particularly if bonds are involved. As public improvements and private investment take place in a TAD, the taxable value of property increases. The city/county collects those revenues, putting the increase due to the new investment into special fund to pay off bonds or loans that financed the public improvements in the district. On December 16th Statesboro’s City Council unanimously approved the TAD
map presented by the Blakely Group and the redevelopment proposal for downtown Statesboro – including South Main Street and other areas of the city. The new plan states the goal for the TAD is “to encourage the private redevelopment of outmoded, highway oriented commercial development into pedestrian friendly, mixed use centers to achieve the vision set forth in the 2011 City of Statesboro Downtown Master Plan and the 2014 Comprehensive Plan.” The TAD becomes the first step in reclaiming and improving the visual appeal of South Main. As properties are developed and funds are available for improvements to sidewalks, for the creation of bike paths and green space, Statesboro’s growth in a positive direction is assured for the future. On December 16th Statesboro’s City Council unanimously approved the TAD map presented by the Blakely Group and the redevelopment proposal for downtown Statesboro