Residential Enterprise Zone

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Residential Enterprise Zone
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The Residential Enterprise Zone (REZ) will

• create an environment to foster residential
  development in and around the City of
  Hopkinsville.
• assist the City in attracting a residential
  population and to establish stable residential
  neighborhoods.
• help implement the desired land use patterns, as
  shown on the Future Land Use Map.
• reduce the possibility of urban sprawl, which
  affects the countys prime agricultural lands.
• encourage strategic annexation.

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Incentives (Builder/Developer/Buyer)

• All Building/Zoning Permits issued in approved
  REZ subdivisions will have permit costs reduced
  by 50 through a Rebate Program.
• All major plats (residential) approved in the REZ
  will have plat fees reduced by 50 through a
  Rebate Program.
• All approved REZ subdivisions which require storm
  water management for approval, will have the
  option of requesting the City to design an
  approved Storm Water Management Plan at the
  Citys cost. The developer will sign an
  indemnification and hold harmless agreement in
  favor of the City and will be responsible for
  implementing the approved Storm Water Management
  Plan. Failure to install the Plan, as approved,
  will subject the developer/owner to any sanction
  or penalties, which might be levied by the City.

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Payroll tax and property tax rebates will be
provided for each approved REZ subdivision,
subject to the following guidelines.
Incentives (Builder/Developer/Buyer)

• Payroll Tax
• A Building/Zoning Permit must be issued.
• A list of all workers (employees) on the job
  site, which receive an hourly rate, will be
  provided at the beginning of the job.
• Payroll sheets with documentation of payroll tax
  paid will be submitted.
• Fifty percent (50) of the tax paid by the
  employee will be rebated to the employer.

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Incentives (Builder/Developer/Buyer)

• Property Tax
• A Building/Zoning Permit must be issued.
• An assessment of pre-construction value and an
  assessment (appraisal) of post-construction value
  will be performed.
• Fifty Percent (50) of the difference of the pre-
  and post-value in City property tax is to be
  rebated to the homeowner for a period of two (2)
  taxable years.

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Incentives (Builder/Developer/Buyer)

• HWEA will offer to finance sewer installation
  through low-interest State Revolving Loan Fund
  (SRF), with the developer/owner paying principal
  and interest to HWEA for approved REZ
  subdivisions.
• HWEA will provide to the owner/developer
  engineering design assistance for the water
  lines installed to the approved REZ subdivision.
• A bond program will be established for the life
  of the REZ program and eligible participants.
  The amount of the bond program will not exceed
  Two Million Dollars (2,000,000.00) per year for
  the existence of the REZ. Eligibility will be
  determined on a first-come, first-serve basis and
  availability of funds.

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Incentives (Builder/Developer/Buyer)

• For each REZ subdivision approved, a developer
  /owner will receive as a rebate of sewer and/or
  water installation costs in the following
  amounts For approved REZ subdivisions with 15 to
  20 lots, a rebate of 500.00/lot will be given
  upon the completion of each house within the
  development.
• For approved REZ subdivisions with 21 to 35 lots,
  a rebate of 750.00/lot will be given upon the
  completion of each house within the development.
• For approved REZ subdivisions with 36 lots or
  greater, a rebate of 1,000.00/lot will be given
  upon the completion of each house within the
  development.

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Policies

• A warranty or guarantee of one (1) year must be
  provided by the developer/owner for streets after
  construction and acceptance by the City. The
  one-year warranty period will begin when at least
  25 of the lots are developed within the approved
  REZ development.
• The property must be annexed into the City prior
  to development or, if the City elects, after
  development is in progress. If the City elects
  not to annex the property, the owner/developer
  must still construct the subdivision according to
  the Hopkinsville Code of Ordinances Title 15 and
  the Citys Subdivision Regulations and Public
  Improvement Specifications.

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Incentives (Conditions)
If the subdivision is a phased development, the
amount of rebate will be determined by the number
of lots contained in the final plat, i.e. if
there are 100 lots shown on the preliminary plat,
but the first phase of the final plat shows 20
lots, the potential rebate after each house is
built will be 500.00/lot. Where preliminary
plat approval is given, and the owner/developer
amends the plat by increasing the number of lots
on the final plat, the owner/developer will only
be eligible for the number of lots shown on the
preliminary plat, i.e. 100 lots are shown on the
preliminary plat, the owner/developer amends the
final plat and increases the number of lots to
120, the owner/developer is only eligible for
potential rebates for 100 lots after the houses
have been built.
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Policies

• Single-family attached or detached subdivision
  developments containing fifteen (15) lots or more
  will be the only developments eligible for the
  REZ incentives. Duplexes, multi-family
  developments, and Final Plats containing fourteen
  (14) lots or less are not eligible.
• Installation of sidewalks will be a requirement
  to be eligible for the incentive. The
  owner/developer must install sidewalks according
  to the standards and specifications found in the
  Hopkinsville Public Improvement Specifications.

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Policies

• Any property found within an Agricultural
  District, pursuant to KRS 262.850, will be
  ineligible for any of the REZ incentives. To
  become eligible for benefits, the property owner
  must decertify from the Agricultural District and
  sign a Consent to Annexation form, and the
  property must be readily available to be annexed
  by the City.
• Subdivision Restrictive Covenants will be
  required to include standard verbiage which is
  required for City subdivisions including, but not
  limited to, verbiage regarding maintenance of
  detention facilities and verbiage requesting
  annexation.
• All incentives available to the Developer/Owner
  terminate upon default by the Developer/Owner or
  non-compliance with applicable rules and
  regulations.

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Policies

• All incentives are transferable if approved by
  the appropriate authority. Transfer of the
  incentives without proper approval will void all
  incentives.
• Greenspaces for each approved REZ subdivision is
  required. Greenspaces shall be a minimum of 10
  percent of the total property area. The
  greenspaces can be used a passive pedestrian area
  for the enjoyment of the neighborhood or
  landscape buffers screening incompatible uses
  from the neighborhood. The greenspaces will be
  in the form of an easement and reflected on the
  Final Plat.

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IMPLEMENTATION
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Responsibility

• The Hopkinsville-Christian County Planning
  Commission will be responsible for the
  administration and monitoring of the REZ. The
  Hopkinsville-Christian County Planning Commission
  will develop the appropriate administrative
  processes, which will determine eligibility,
  track the activity, and provide rebates as
  approved by the Hopkinsville City Council.

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Time Frame

• The REZ will exist for a five (5)-year period.
  If the Council does not wish to authorize the
  program for another period of time, those
  projects which have received final plat approval
  will continue to receive the REZ benefits until
  the lots covered by the final plat are built out.

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REZ Boundary
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Summary of Facts

• Hopkinsville is a dormant, shrinking market. The
  census shows little to no growth in 14 years.
• New housing needs to be stimulated to attract new
  residents.
• Currently there are less than 4 subdivisions and
  100 building lots within the city limits.
• There are no new subdivisions in process.
• Our developers have retired or passed away from
  the scene.
• We need to stimulate the new housing process.

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Summary of Facts

• All incentives are PRODUCTION BASED!
• If no subdivision is approved within the REZ, no
  rebate of fees will occur.
• If no homes are CONSTRUCTED within the REZ, no
  incentive will be paid from the bond funds.
• If we do nothing, any increase cost of City
  services will be spread across the existing tax
  base.
• If we adopt the REZ, any increase cost of city
  services will be spread across a BROADER tax base.

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Many Thanks!

• We Need YOUR Support!!