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Acknowledging blight is a key step forward
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 16, 2001 It's hard to imagine New Port Richey's downtown core as a slum, considering the $4-million city and state investment there. But, that designation remains from a City Council decision a dozen years ago, and now the current council is considering extending the same label citywide. Blight, by government definition, extends beyond the common conception of boarded-up fire traps and other eyesores that exist in nearly every community. It also means vacant commercial buildings, inadequate parking, irregular lots, and reduced property values or values that are increasing at a slower pace compared with surrounding areas. The City Council, sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), voted a week ago to designate the entire city as blighted. It must do so again in its role as council before the city can embark on a redevelopment plan and apply for grants, tax programs, revenue bonds and other financing tools to improve the city. The resolution is scheduled to be considered during a council meeting at 7:30 tonight at New Port Richey City Hall. Though public perception may be harsh, the idea is bold. Few other cities in Florida have designated their entire municipal limits as blighted. But, a survey by Gerald Paradise, the city's assistant city manager and development director, offers sobering evidence. Paradise examined 159 properties along two streets in each of the city's 19 planning neighborhoods and found 39 percent of the residential properties (52 of 134) and nearly all the commercial sites (22 of 25) blighted. Though luxury homes exist along the river and in other sites around the city, the preponderance of the housing stock is increasingly older than what can be found in Pasco County. Likewise, a large transient population exists within the city, as attested to by the student mobility statistics at New Port Richey's public schools. And, the city's tax base is growing at a rate of about 3 percent annually compared with the county growth of 8 percent. What's more, limiting the designation to downtown hasn't provedas successful as the city envisioned. The blight identified in 1988 has spread, according to Paradise's report, and the downtown tax base did not exceed its 1990 level until two years ago. A recession in the early 1990s and flood damage from the March 1993 storm contributed to the stalled tax base. Designating the area between U.S. 19, Madison Street, Orange Lake and Nebraska Avenue may have proved inadequate. "It was just too small to financially deal with the problems that exist," Paradise said. The city, roughly 14,000 residents in 5 square miles, is mostly landlocked by Port Richey to the north and developed areas of unincorporated Pasco County to the west, south and east. With little developable land, the city must look to redevelop existing sites if it is to extend its commercial district and improve its neighborhoods. Under tax increment financing, increased property tax revenues generated by improvements inside blighted areas remain within the vicinity to assist other property owners via grants or pay for capital improvements. Limiting the dimensions of the blighted designation meant a corresponding limitation from where the money could be generated and spent. Though it is an unappealing label, characterizing New Port Richey as blighted is a logical step toward long-term improvements across the city.
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