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Res 118-82 7/20/1982RESOLUTION NO. / 2 RESOLUTION DESIGNATING THE DENVER TANK AREA AS BLIGHTED AND REQUESTING THAT THE TEXAS INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION ACCEPT THE BLIGHTED AREA AS ELIGIBLE FOR COMMERCIAL PROJECTS WHEREAS, an area hereafter called the Denver Tank Area is located within a portion of Enumeration District 66 of the City of Wichita Falls, Texas and is bounded by Eastside Drive from Holliday Creek to Cottonwood Road; south on Cotton- wood Road to the Mk&T Railroad Tracks; northwest along MK&T Railroad Tracks to East Scott Street; west along East Scott Street to Holliday Creek; and northward along Holliday Creek to Eastside Drive (see map in attached study) ; and, WHEREAS, the attached study contains detailed findings which show that the Denver Tank Area contains a substantial number of substandard, deteriorating, and deteriorated structures and suffers from a high relative rate of unemployment; these conditions impairing the sound growth of the city and constituting economic and social liabilities; and, WHEREAS, overall objectives of the City of Wichita Falls include the development of vacant land in the Eastside Area and the redevelopment of existing substandard structures; and, WHEREAS, the availability of financing of projects for commercial uses under the Development Corporation Act of 1979 (Article 5190.6 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes, as amended) will contribute significantly to the alleviation of the blighted conditions found to exist in the Denver Tank Area; and, WHEREAS, projects for commercial use will be projects compatible with existing businesses in the Denver Tank Area and limited by the conditions and criteria listed in the attached study; and, WHEREAS, the Board of Aldermen of the City of Wichita Falls, Texas will review all project descriptions for approval of specific projects for commercial uses in order to determine whether such projects are consistent with the city's objectives for redevelopment of the Denver Tank Area; and, 2- WHEREAS, the City of Wichita Falls is currently preparing plans for the expenditure of funds within the Denver Tank Area in order to make drainage improvements along Holliday Creek and to the Denver Tank, these improvements to begin as soon as practical and to include the anticipated expenditure of local, CDBG, and other available Federal funds. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, THAT: The Denver Tank Area is hereby designated as a blighted area by the City of Wichita Falls and that the Texas Industrial Commission is requested to accept the blighted area for commercial projects in accordance with the provisions of the Development Corporation Act of 1979 and the administration rules and regulations adopted under its authority. PASSED AND APPROVED THIS TH$ day of c 1982. M A Y O R ATTEST: CITY CLERK ANALYSIS OF PROPOSED DENVER TANK BLIGHTED AREA SUMMARY The area shown on Map 1 has been nominated for designation as a blighted area. Analysis of the area indicates that Blighted Area designation is justified. The area suffers from a relatively high unemployment rate, and has a substantial number of deteriorated or deteriorating structures. These conditions impair the sound growth of the city and constitute an economic and social liability. INTRODUCTION When an area is declared a "Blighted Area," certain types of businesses become eligible to use Industrial Revenue Bonds (IRB) for financing. Created by an act of the Texas Legislature, the Development Corporation Act of 1979 allows the issuance of IRBs by development corporations within "blighted or economically depressed areas or Federally assisted new communities within a home-city or a Federally designated economically depressed county of less than 50,000 persons." IRBs are used within 46 states allowing the "users" of the bonds or facilities financed by the bonds to pay interest rates which are normally less than prime lending rates. Additionally, buyers of IRBs pay no income tax on interest earned. The advantages of IRBs make them attractive as an implementation tool for the public/private redevelopment of blighted areas. Blighted areas, according to the Development Corporation Act of 1979, as amended, are "those areas and areas immediately adjacent thereto within a city which by reason of the presence of a substantial number of substandard, slum, deteriorated, or deteriorating structures, or which suffer from a high relative rate of unemployment, or which have been designated and included in a tax incre- mental district . . . , or any combination of the foregoing . . . (which) substantially impair or arrest the sound growth of the city, or constitute an economic or social liability and/or menace to public health, safety, or welfare in the present condition and use." O "HICKORY m II II_--- - tt wVELT• 1 700= n 4g•C, t o J III 0 1 r--.11 ST LEFALl.. J z., O< o p ollfRANCI 0 FULLERI-- / i a i ell == 11 2 ST W j a OLD PETROLIA ROAD p 17.. c=31 z 1300 HARDI • 2 W o ) MARCONI ST 1- Y J J SY W J1 0 l d ST. o TRICE MORGAN LANE _ 6,1IANSTJmjf J 1 J RISTOL = f^. O TROUT u TREET 9 Fr 'IS = O W I o• E OPECAN T gILEF H ISOO HAMPTON 1600 r titi 1 ,1101 I I I 1‘111 qCh I/ w CHANDLER p0 pt1. Z T41,l- LYNN ROAD N l I D tt J Ell L. FT WORTH/ ST Sgt hENh'E 900 Jim a` S O shi Tr4 O w =•F C'Eq O Iow CONNE O 71: 4'ci OWS LN 2 P. V OSAGE AV 10 . J r( p m L OCEOLA AK 040\ BRYAN h9 t o z y 4 k o Z Oti AVENUE O y AVENUE I rHAWT . N y ) S 1 o W J 9 ST. 4 O W W 1RELANO ST o• )].. e ST O •P+t•,i O 0 ,a°,,',0 II E N SUN SI•E SAMDERA STARVISTA I CENTRAL FREEWAY II EAST 2700 v wILDROSE WIDERA C f DENVER TANK AREA Map 1 2- The best available data has been used in this report. The area being considered is within Census Enumeration District 66, which is contained in Census Tract 114. The entire area is within Planning Sector 3. When- ever possible, data for the smallest area has been used. However, the analysis area is reasonably homogeneous, and Tract and Planning Sector data is probably representative of the area being studied. AREA DESCRIPTION AND DEVELOPMENT TRENDS A recent land use survey (1980-81) of Enumeration District 66 indicated a large amount of vacant land and a mix of deteriorating residential and commercial uses. Most businesses are along East Scott and Eastside Drive. About 47% of the land is vacant. Two railroad lines cross the area. The "Denver Tank," a prominant feature of the area, was at one time used to provide water for locomotives. Table A LAND USE COMPOSITION ENUMERATION DISTRICT 66 LAND USE PERCENT Commercial 4.9% Public* 25.3% Residential 21.0% Vacant 46.5% Industrial 0.3% Source: City of Wichita Falls, Planning Department, 1981 Includes public buildings, parks, railroad right-of-way, and street right-of-way. Development in the area is stagnant. According to 1970 Census data, almost all of the homes were built before 1950. Examination of building permit records revealed that there has been very little construction of new business in the area over the last 20 years. 3- There are some development constraints in the area, although these constraints do not appear to be severe enough to account for the low rate of development. The Holliday Creek flood plain is the most significant constraint on growth. The flood plain must be considered in any economic redevelopment plan or action for the Denver Tank area. Any commercial redevelopment that occurs in the area designated as flood plain must be accomplished in accordance with Flood Plain Ordinance No. 3282, as amended. This ordinance requires elevation and/or floodproofing of structures. Requirements of the ordinance apply to new construction and any recon- struction which increases the value of the building by over 50%. The Denver Tank area does have assets for development which have not been thoroughly exploited. Eastside Drive and East Scott provide good access to the area. The area has good access to two different rail lines. CRITERIA 1: HOUSING The Denver Tank area meets the first criteria for a blighted area: the presence of a substantial number os substandard, slum, deteriorated, or deteriorat- ing structures. The condition of the housing stock in this area is substantially below the city-wide average. A Housing Condition Survey made by the Planning Department (1980-81) indicated that approximately 70% of the area's housing structures were either classified as deteriorating or dilapidated. This is a significant number and is central to illustrating that this area of the City is blighted. Table B HOUSING CONDITION PLANNING SECTOR 3 STANDARD DETERIORATING DILAPIDATED Sector's Percentage of Housing Structures 30% 33% 37% City Wide Average Percentage 78% 18%4% Source: City of Wichita Falls, Planning Department, 1981 11., 2 o c 2_1_ 1'- 2 j,>..' y ,_ Q 1 t 1 ,1 . 11 J Q' Z`.` L tt. L1 - i '`,‘;.:.,t'i W J ii Rte 441 ' ( sl -,f!N . t V -1 Ic lam t `'.1 ' '• s : t.1 ' l vwr` 1__' 1. 1 i 101 I 1 I tijlI TT,11''I ` Agit t.,',.•-•1. 1 Ft /2/ /// / 1.... Z \ irk :' o 7 ji ;II :// /./'',/ ; ' 'NI . I d . I, " ;. t- . I; ray/, i 1 ' .•_ I 1 2 :1 it / //// C. • 1 ( / r 11 1 1 X 1/ / ,/// §___ i J: C 4- Methodology: The housing condition survey was conducted in the fall and winter of 1980-81. Texas Pictoral Standards were used to grade the City's housing condition. Standard indicates a structurally sound house; Deteriorating indicates a house structurally sound but needing repair; Dilapidated indicates a house that is not structurally sound and lacks plumbing or electricity. CRITERIA 2: UNEMPLOYMENT The Denver Tank area meets the second criteria as a blighted area because it suffers from a high relative rate of unemployment." Unemployment data was not directly available for this area. However, the unemployment rate in April, 1982 for the adjacent Census Tract 113 was 9.8% which is well above the city-wide average of 7.6% for the same period (Source: Texas Employment Commission, April 1982) . The Denver Tank area is similar to Census Tract 113 and the rate in the Denver Tank area is probably also high. RESULTING GROWTH IMPAIRMENT In order to qualify as a blighted area, the City must determine that the conditions of unemployment and/or deteriorated structures "substantially impair or arrest the sound growth of the city, or constitute an economic or social liability and/or menace to public health, safety or welfare in the present condition or use." The City of Wichita Falls has adopted policies which state that infill of vacant land within the city limits is necessary in order for the city to grow in an orderly fashion (Vacant Land Study 1981) . This analysis has shown that 46% of the land in this area is vacant despite its closeness to the urban core and relatively good highway access. Development constraints are not severe enough to explain the current lack of new development in the area. It appears that the high unemployment and deteriorated condition of existing structures are responsible for the stagnant development, and that these conditions impair the orderly develop- ment of the city. The chronically high unemployment rate and poverty in this area create 5- economic and social liabilities for the city. PROJECT APPROVAL CRITERIA Industrial Revenue Bonds are a form of public subsidy. Therefore, projects using IRB funds should serve the public interest. The following criteria should be used when reviewing IRB projects in the Denver Tank area. 1. The project should avoid displacement of area residents. When displacement is unavoidable, a reasonable effort should be made to assist the displaced persons and mitigate any hardships involved. 2. The project should not have a significant negative impact on existing residential areas (see map). Development near residential areas should include buffering and screening. 3. The project should comply with the Wichita Falls Flood Plain Ordinance No. 3282. Projects with large amounts of runoff should use storm water detention or other methods to reduce peak flood volumes. 4. The project should be compatible with other projects in the area.