EEZ

COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

REDI says enhanced enterprise zone tosupport job growth, public schoolsBy Madeline O'Leary

January 21, 2012 | 4:10 p.m. CST

New jobs and more funding for education could result from Regional Economic Development Inc.'s plans to create

an enhanced enterprise zone in Columbia. Business developments and expansions within the zone would benefit

from a 50 percent property tax abatement for the next 10 years. The proposed enterprise zone boundaries are

highlighted in the map below. ¦ Nicole Thompson

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COLUMBIA — Regional Economic Development Inc. is pushing forward with the idea of

developing an enhanced enterprise zone that could create jobs while generating property tax

revenue for Columbia schools and other taxing entities.

Boone County has lost a total of 1,920 manufacturing jobs since 2004, according to a REDI

report delivered to the Columbia City Council on Tuesday. The enhanced enterprise zone

would provide tax incentives intended to spark expansion of existing businesses or

manufacturing companies and the creation of new small businesses.

Businesses in the zone would be eligible for a 50 percent

abatement of property taxes over 10 years on new or

expanded buildings and infrastructure. Personal property

such as furniture, equipment and vehicles would be

ineligible for the tax abatement, Bernie Andrews, executive

vice president of REDI, said.

“Once the zone is designated, new building must take place

for the company to receive the tax credits,” Andrews said. “If

an existing manufacturing company (within the zone) adds

on a 25,000-square-foot expansion, then only the expansion

can be taxed at 50 percent.”

Although manufacturers in the enhanced enterprise zone

would get tax breaks if they expand, tax revenue to the

community still would rise, Andrews said.

REDI Chairman Dave Griggs cited an example during his

presentation to the council. If a business along Route B,

which would be included in the enterprise zone, were to

make $10 million worth of investments in real property and

$5 million worth of investments in personal property, the

net increase in property taxes collected over 10 years would be $1.3 million. Of that, about $1

million would go to Columbia Public Schools.

Heightened competition between branch plants is another benefit of the enhanced enterprise

zone program, Andrews said.

“It’s a pretty good tool for manufacturing companies,” he said. “With the program, branch

companies that come to Columbia can compete against other branches across the state for


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cost.”

REDI officials hope the program will entice businesses such as Kraft Foods, Dana Corp. and

Quaker Oats to expand their operations.

To be eligible for benefits, a business must create a minimum of two jobs. Ultimately, however,

the local Enhanced Enterprise Zone Advisory Board will determine business eligibility.

REDI is recommending the following people be appointed to the advisory board:

Todd Culley of Boone Electric Cooperative or Randy Morrow of Boone Hospital Center

Carrie Gartner of the Downtown Community Improvement District

Louis Gatewood of the Columbia Housing Authority

Mariel Liggett of Williams Keepers

Jonathan Sessions of the Columbia Board of Education

John Strotbeck of Kraft Foods

Representatives of other taxing entities, which might include the city of Columbia, Boone

County, the Daniel Boone Regional Library and the Boone County Fire Protection

District.

Solidifying the selection of the seven members of the advisory board is one of the next steps in

the completion of the enhanced enterprise zone designation application to the Missouri

Department of Economic Development. The exact zone area still needs to be established, and

eligible business clusters have yet to be determined.


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COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

Resolution to create enhancedenterprise zone deems large portion ofColumbia 'blighted'By Madeline O'Leary

February 7, 2012 | 12:13 a.m. CST

COLUMBIA — The boundaries of a proposed enhanced enterprise zone in the city are

dependent on what can be considered "blighted."

The enterprise zone discussed at Monday's City Council meeting wraps around more than half

the city and encompasses areas possessing "inadequacies that lead to blight."

Solidifying boundaries is the next step in Regional Economic

Development Inc.'s push for an enhanced enterprise zone. In

an effort to create jobs and foster economic growth, the zone

would provide tax incentives intended to spark expansion of

existing businesses or manufacturing companies and the

development of new, small businesses in "blighted" areas.

Distinguished by unsanitary and dangerous conditions,

defective streets and crumbling infrastructure, areas that are

considered "blighted" are seen as economic and social

liabilities that threaten either public health, safety, morals or

community welfare, according to the resolution presented to

the council.

Under state statute, areas must be "blighted" to qualify as an

enhanced enterprise zone.

Columbia citizen John Nelson said he did not believe any

areas in Columbia met the criteria to be considered

"blighted."

"I'm opposed to the enhanced enterprise zone happening in

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Columbia in general. I don't think anything here is blighted. I agree with what (REDI) wants to

do, but I do not agree with how they're doing it," Nelson said. "They're using a Missouri statute

that does not apply to Columbia."

Nelson said he believes REDI should reconsider how to allow businesses to gain incentives.

"There has to be another way without marking 60 percent of the city blighted," he said.

Although the boundaries of the zone are vast, that doesn't mean that more than half of

Columbia is considered economically downtrodden, nor will blight-finding relate to eminent

domain, said Dave Griggs, chairman of REDI's board of directors.

"If one specific geographic point qualifies (as 'blighted'), and if we want to include that point,

then we have to include the whole census tract," Griggs said.

The previously mentioned statute uses census tracts — demographically homogenous county

areas — as a "unit of measure." If a specific site in Discovery Ridge were deemed "blighted,"

then that entire census tract is the "unit of measure" that must be specified to include that

single site of interest, Griggs said.

He said identifying these "blighted" points and their associated census tracts are a "necessary

part of the process."

According to the statute, a different method of classifying areas, which doesn't involve census

tracts, could be approved.

Fifth Ward City Councilwoman Helen Anthony suggested removing the term "blighted" from

the resolution altogether. But in order to get approval from the state to develop an enhanced

enterprise zone, the term must be used, City Manager Mike Matthes said.

"At some point, we have to say the area is blighted to the state," Matthes said.

Matthes said that declaring the area "blighted" will not stop investment.

"The official map presented to businesses will say 'enhanced enterprise zone,'" Matthes said. "It

will not say 'blighted side of Columbia.' This will focus economic incentives on the city. There's

no reason to fear that investment will stop."

Griggs said that "blight" is not an inoffensive term but its use is unavoidable in this situation.

"It's an economic development term, and it's not necessarily appropriate," he said. "But it's


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what's required by statute."

First Ward City Councilman Fred Schmidt said he saw the term as a non-issue and said the

potential economic benefits of an enhanced enterprise zone outweigh the argument about the

terminology.

"If the government can help by giving jobs to the community, call me Mr. Blighted," Schmidt

said.


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George Kennedy writes a weeklyopinion column for the Missourian.




REDI, city advisory boardrepresentatives discuss EEZ with

COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

GEORGE KENNEDY: Many questionsstill surround enhanced enterprisezonesBy George Kennedy

March 1, 2012 | 1:34 p.m. CST

The poor will always be with us. That’s what the Bible says and the decennial census confirms.

If you want to learn about tax abatements, though, you’ll do better with section 135.950 of

Missouri’s revised statutes.

And if you’re wondering what the poor and the privileged

have in common, look no further than our town’s

controversy du jour, the enhanced enterprise zone (EEZ).

It turns out, you see, that if we want to take advantage of the

statute to lure new industry to the university’s Discovery

Ridge or the underground labyrinth at the quarry adjoining

North Stadium Boulevard, the EEZ must include the census

blocks that are lowest in income and highest in

unemployment along with the actual sites targeted for

development.

Contrary to what you may have thought, then, the least

among us are essential to enhanced economic opportunity.

Whether they’ll benefit is just one of many questions.

I wrote and some of you may have read last week about the

suspicious citizens who gathered to share their anger and

their foreboding about the possible effects of an official

designation of “blight” for half the city.

A few of those worriers were present Tuesday when Mike

Brooks, the president of Regional Economic Development

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neighborhood delegates







Inc. — usually referred to as REDI — explained the rules and

the possibilities of the proposed EEZ. They and a handful of

journalists sat around the edges of the City Hall conference

room. His intended audience, members of the Downtown

Leadership Council, was more representative of the

economic elite. They occupied the table in the center of the

room.

The leaders seemed less hostile than the followers, but they

asked many of the same questions. This week there were

answers.

Brian Treece, vice chairman of the leadership council, wondered how to reconcile the city’s

publicized pride in various “Top 10” listings with the designation of blight. Mr. Brooks

explained the requirements of the law.

A bit later, Mr. Treece asked how the EEZ would benefit the poor and unemployed. By creating

jobs, Mr. Brooks replied.

When he offered a law firm with out-of-state clients as one example of a qualifying business, I

couldn’t help wondering how many unemployed lawyers we have. To be fair, I’m sure REDI

will look harder for manufacturers than attorneys.

Mr. Brooks pointed out that the EEZ rules are more flexible than some better-known business

lures. The “Quality Jobs” enticement beloved by our governor, for example, requires 40 new

jobs and salaries above $30,000. An EEZ requires a minimum of two new workers paid at least

three-quarters of the county average wage.

In return, the company would have up to half its local taxes forgiven for up to 10 years. Tax

credits from the state would also be available.

Nobody mentioned Mamtek, the Chinese prospect that won not only tax credits but a new

building in Moberly before it was exposed as a myth. The Missouri Department of Economic

Development, which approved that handout while ignoring warning signs, also oversees the

118 EEZ’s already established all over the state.

Another good question came from Janet Hammen of the leadership council. How are those

other EEZs working, she asked. The answer was that a consultant hired by REDI looked into

zones created in Springfield, Rolla and Jefferson City and found no negative consequences. I


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don’t know whether Ms. Hammen was satisfied, but I would have preferred something a little

more positive. If avoiding harm is the standard, that’s setting the bar pretty low, isn’t it?

Mr. Brooks, in his opening remarks, had said, “I’m sorry that we’ve managed to raise such

consternation in the community.”

I didn’t hear consternation from the downtown leaders. They took no action Tuesday, though

they probably will later. Still, as Mr. Brooks left for another meeting, I found myself hoping for

his sake that he isn’t working on commission.

George Kennedy is a former managing editor at the Missourian and professor emeritus at the

Missouri School of Journalism.


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COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

Public voices concerns about EnhancedEnterprise Zone, "blight" at meetingBy Hannah Cushman, Madeline O'Leary

March 6, 2012 | 9:55 p.m. CST

COLUMBIA — Carol Shoemaker, coordinator of enhanced enterprise zones for the Missouri

Department of Economic Development, facilitated a question-and-answer session with the

public Tuesday following a brief presentation on the program's history and benefits.

Much of the public comment echoed questions that remained unanswered at last week's

meeting between the Downtown Leadership Council and Regional Economic Development Inc.

Questions concerning blight

Citizens still expressed concern over the use of the term

"blight." Although a distinct definition exists under Missouri

state statute, Mike Brooks, president of REDI, said only two

pieces of the state's definition were used to designate the

"blighted" areas in Columbia: unemployment and poverty.

Yet Shoemaker said the definition of "blight" could be

represented by something as simple as a cracked sidewalk or

a vacant building. She continued and saidthat the census

data used to determine "blight" in Columbia only examined

Brooks' pieces of the definition, unemployment and poverty.

But Mayor Bob McDavid said that "blight doesn't really have

a definition."

Citizens criticized the conflicting nature of these definitions

and raised concerns about lowered property value and

potential abuse of the blight decree.

"If the public believes there is a stigma attached to blight,

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property values will go down," said Brent Gardner, Columbia real estate agent and member of

the Downtown Leadership Council.

Questions concerning proposed zone's outcomes

Citizens also voiced uncertainty that jobs created by the zone's incentives would benefit the

areas used to meet requirements for blight.

For example, some of the low-income, high-unemployment areas encompassed by the

proposed boundaries of the enterprise zone are located in the inner city of Columbia. But the

targeted zones for industrial development — where the jobs would exist — are located near the

outskirts of the city.

In addition to this, the public raised questions concerning job training for unskilled workers

and what measures the city would take to ensure the employment of past felons.

"A contractual promise must be written up guaranteeing accessibility to these jobs for the

people who need them most," commenter Joan Wilcox said.

Shoemaker reminded the public that she had no local authority and recommended these ideas

be brought before the Enhanced Enterprise Zone Advisory Board or another governmental

body within the city.

When evidence for growth in economically depressed areas was requested, Shoemaker could

not provide any quantitative data and recommended that the public contact the officials in one

of the other 118 existing enhanced enterprise zones in Missouri for such information.

What's next

Enhanced Enterprise Zone Advisory Board meetings are scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon on

March 9 and 16 at the Daniel Boone City Building.

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In this letter from Allan Moore, acertified real estate appraiser, whointerviewed people involved withexisting enhanced enterprise zones,he said that a 'blight' designationdoes not adversely affect the market.This letter comes in connection withthe Columbia City Council's efforts toassuage residents' worries about theconnotations of being marked as'blight.'

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COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

City leaders, legislators look to alterdefinition of blightBy Madeline O'Leary

March 8, 2012 | 6:56 p.m. CST

COLUMBIA — City leaders are trying to ease public consternation about how the legal

declaration of blight required to establish an enhanced enterprise zone might put areas of the

city at risk of eminent domain.

"We are simply trying to do whatever we can to address questions from the community," said

Mike Brooks, director of Regional Economic Development Inc.

Columbia legislators and REDI representatives are looking

to alter the enhanced enterprise zone's state statute so that a

local government's declaration of blight cannot be used to

trigger other laws that also require a blight declaration.

"We are trying to clarify what we think already exists,"

Brooks said. "We want to make sure that the blight

designation under the enhanced enterprise zone does not

meet the blight requirements for redevelopment

authorities."

Brooks also said he plans to include "areas that are

identified as 'distressed'" in the definition of blight.

"Distressed" areas are pinpointed by the federal government

and grant eligibility for economic resources such as

Community Development Block Grants to the communities

that need them most.

Brooks said he began talking with local legislators last week

about changing the definition of blight.

"Our entire local delegation is working together to get a

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REDI board votes to end effort forColumbia EEZs










change made," Rep. Chris Kelly, D-Columbia, said. "We are

trying to shrink the blight definition and are very much

against the expansion of eminent domain."

Kelly said the intent of narrowing the definition is to prevent

indirect negative effects of establishing an enhanced

enterprise zone.

"Sometimes harm can be done inadvertently, and we want to

eliminate any possibility of inadvertent harm," Kelly said.

The possibility of a blight decree leading to lower property

values is one type of "inadvertent harm" the public has

repeatedly expressed worries about.

"A concern we hear is that the blight declaration will have a

negative effect on real estate," Kelly said. "I don't think that's

true."

According to an email sent to Brooks from Allan Moore of

the Missouri Appraisal Institute, the establishment of enhanced enterprise zones and the

required blight decree "absolutely have not adversely (affected) real estate values," and "market

participants do not recognize (enhanced enterprise zones) in their decisions to buy or develop

property."

The institute drew those conclusions after examining enhanced enterprise zones in Rolla,

Jefferson City and Springfield.

"I am not aware of any other communities that have had this problem with the definition of

blight," Brooks said. "At least we have reached out to answer questions about real estate value."

Kelly said he didn't know how soon the legislature might vote on a new blight definition.

"We are in the 'being careful' stage now. We are doing research, examining statutes and taking

a close look at language," Kelly said.

Whether altering the definition of blight will alleviate public worries about an enhanced

enterprise zone is the "million-dollar question," Brooks said.

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This document, provided by RegionalEconomic Development Inc.executive vice president BernieAndrews, demonstrates possible citytax revenue with an enhancedenterprise zone. State regulationrequires a local tax abatement of atleast 50 percent.


COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

Enhanced Enterprise Zone Boardclarifies proposalsBy Hannah Cushman

March 9, 2012 | 5:17 p.m. CST

COLUMBIA — After questions about the proposed enhanced enterprise zone and its associated

blight decree were left lingering by previous meetings, a group of concerned citizens who

gathered in City Hall on Friday morning finally got some answers.

There, members of the Enhanced Enterprise Zone Board collaborated with top Regional

Economic Development Inc. officials to tackle several items on the laundry list of public

grievances.

Minimizing the effects of blight

REDI moved Thursday to prevent a local declaration of

blight from being used to trigger other laws that require the

designation at the state level. Board member Carrie Gartner

suggested the same safeguard, a clarifying ordinance, at the

local level.

"I recommend city staff draft a resolution to council saying

that no eminent domain will occur as a result of an EEZ

blight designation," Gartner said, winning

unanimous approval from her peers.

Gartner made the recommendation in hopes of formalizing

assurances already issued from City Council and REDI.

"We should take (eminent domain) off the table as even a

possible option," she said.

Reducing the size of the map

In answer to public alarm at the size of the enhanced

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enterprise zone map — earlier versions encompassed more

than half of the city — REDI has shaved six census blocks,

most residential, from the area wrapped by the zone's

boundaries.

Among the areas on the proverbial cutting room floor are

East Campus, Stephens College and Boone Hospital.

In all, 10,000 residents were removed from the map, said

Bernie Andrews, REDI's executive vice president.

Ensuring impoverished neighborhoods benefit

Per state regulation, a baseline of 50 percent of local tax

abatement must be offered to qualifying entities in an

enhanced enterprise zone.

But additional abatement can be offered to businesses in

order to "incentivize other standards," said Columbia Public Schools representative Jonathan

Sessions.

Among the standards discussed Friday were hiring practices. Board members suggested

offering additional abatement for employing a certain number of residents from

neighborhoods within the zone or members of minority groups.

Providing evidentiary support

Andrews produced a spreadsheet detailing revenue created by a hypothetical $1

million investment along the Route B target area, should an enhanced enterprise zone be

approved.

His findings showed that even with the state-mandated 50 percent local tax abatement, the city

would receive $104,000 in revenue from the investment over a 10-year period.

Andrews said personal property, which includes things such as machinery, was not factored

into that figure. Items in that category will be subject to full taxation.

REDI Chairman Dave Griggs said businesses receiving state and local incentives must reapply

annually. Companies are eligible to receive local abatement and state tax credits for a

maximum of 10 years.


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When that decade ends, or if a company fails to qualify for the following year, it will be taxed

100 percent, effectively doubling revenue generated by its investments.


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COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

Columbia City Council rescinds blightresolutionBy Madeline O'Leary

May 7, 2012 | 10:33 p.m. CDT

COLUMBIA — City Attorney Fred Boeckmann's recommendation to the Columbia City Council

to rescind the blight decree was met with restrained applause and subdued cheers, despite

Mayor Bob McDavid's request for no demonstrations at the council's meeting Monday evening.

The council unanimously voted in favor of Boeckmann's recommendations.

Originally adopted by the council Feb. 6, Resolution

20-12A established an Enhanced Enterprise Zone Advisory

Board and certified that a portion of Columbia and pieces of

Boone County contained "inadequacies that lead to blight."

Now that the resolution has been rescinded, Regional

Economic Development Inc. will have to restart the process

of getting a map approved and an advisory board

established.

REDI President Mike Brooks said he found it "hard to

respond" to the recommended rescission and asserted that

"every good faith effort" had been made to "help Columbia

be a stronger player in the creation of jobs."

"I hope the council realizes that it's important to have public

buy-in before resolutions and ordinances are

established," Columbia citizen Traci Wilson-Kleekamp said

during public comment. "The public wants to be in on these

decisions, particularly if it's about economic development

involving blight and people's property."

Kleekamp also recommended that the advisory board be

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more diverse and representative of Columbia's population and that a dynamic conversation

take place about all the available tools for economic development.

Under the state statute for enhanced enterprise zones, establishing a blight decree was a

necessary step in the process of creating an enhanced enterprise zone. The enhanced enterprise

zone program would use tax incentives to encourage new development in the manufacturing

sector. New development, according to REDI, would result in job growth.

The Missouri Department of Economic Development used poverty and unemployment

statistics from the 2000 census to determine which areas qualified as blighted. The boundaries

of the zone map included the areas considered blighted.

Yet the blight decree opened the flood gates to public backlash concerning potential eminent

domain abuse, declining property values, the use of 12-year-old data to paint an economic

portrait and skepticism regarding the effectiveness of an enhanced enterprise zone as a tool for

economic development.

The most potent argument, however, was the questionable legality of the original resolution

itself.

Article II, Section 15 of the City Charter states that the council must enact "legislative business"

by ordinance rather than resolution. Opponents of the blight decree declared that the use of a

resolution kept the public from providing meaningful input in the process. City ordinances

require multiple readings and opportunities for public input, whereas resolutions do not.

"The point is that the blight decree and advisory board should have been established by

ordinance," Boeckmann said. He apologized for not recognizing that misstep in February.

Despite the rescission, members of the public continued to push the importance of addressing

unemployment and poverty in Columbia. Tim Rich, executive director at Heart of Missouri

United Way, said unemployment is the "real crisis" that exists in Columbia, and for United

Way to provide a path out of poverty to the people who need it most, available jobs need to be

at the end of the pipeline.

"We must get the jobs into these poor communities," Rich said during public comment. "I

encourage you to do whatever it takes to get those jobs here."

Even with the need for job creation, Sixth Ward City Councilwoman Barbara Hoppe said the

process of establishing economic development programs such as the enhanced enterprise zone


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still needs to be done correctly.

"In terms of jobs, the community is starting to have a larger dialogue about how the enhanced

enterprise zone could be one component in economic development," Hoppe said. "I look

forward to furthering that discussion and I appreciate everyone's work."


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COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

Ordinance to establish EEZ Board inColumbia receives first readingBy Hannah Cushman

May 9, 2012 | 7:45 p.m. CDT

COLUMBIA — At 6 p.m. Wednesday, a special meeting of the City Council was called to order.

At 6:02 p.m., the meeting was adjourned.

In the space of those 120 seconds, Council Bill 121-12 — an

ordinance that would add provisions for the establishment

of an Enhanced Enterprise Zone Board to the City Code —

received its first reading.

Wednesday's special session occurred only two days after the

rescission of Resolution 20-12A, which created an enhanced

enterprise zone advisory board in addition to finding blight

or its precursors in 60 percent of Columbia.

The resolution was the first step in the city's application for

an enhanced enterprise zone, a tax incentive program

marketed by officials at Regional Economic Development

Inc. as a way to generate manufacturing jobs in Columbia.

Before the meeting, Mayor Bob McDavid predicted there

would be no real discussion. "(The meeting is) a formality,

an advertisement," he said.

A public hearing will be held May 21, when the bill receives

its second reading.

Dan Goldstein, one of several leaders of Citizens Involved

and Invested in Columbia, or CiViC, said he disapproved of the council's haste in adopting an

ordinance. He said, however, that he and other CiViC members were not surprised by it.

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"We pretty much expected it," Goldstein said.

Goldstein said he'd like to see neighborhood representation among the new board members.

Citizens — not private firms like REDI — should direct development, he continued.

The board's composition is mandated in the enhanced enterprise zone statute. Thus, the new

advisory board will have a framework identical to its original iteration. Its members will

include:

One member appointed by the Columbia Public School District.

One member appointed by a taxing entity within the proposed enhanced enterprise zone.

Five members appointed by the mayor.

Whether the five open seats will be filled by new individuals has yet to be decided. McDavid

said he has requested recommendations for these spots from council members.

Sixth Ward Councilwoman Barbara Hoppe called public input a vital part of the process of

implementing and maintaining an enhanced enterprise zone. She said she would consider

recommending citizens to serve on the board.

McDavid said he is open to this and any other suggestion. "I want (the council) to have

ownership of this," he said.

Unlike the Feb. 6 resolution, a finding of blight was not included in Wednesday's ordinance.

McDavid said the new board will recommend new boundaries for the enhanced enterprise

zone, which will be considered in a second ordinance. A timeline for when that ordinance will

be available has not been specified.

At the end of the day, McDavid said, the council has the final word on the boundaries. Citizens

are free to approach their councilperson with input.

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COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

Columbia's blight debate: A question ofjobs vs. neighborhood valuesBy Hannah Cushman, Madeline O'Leary

May 18, 2012 | 6:00 a.m. CDT

Protesters march down Elm Street on May 1 to protest the proposed blight decree. Some Columbiaresidents are concerned that labeling certain neighborhoods as "blight" would lower property valuesand cause other potential abuses. | Sam Gause

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Hannah Hemmelgarn reads the newspaper outside her house in the 800 block of Alton Avenue inColumbia on May 3. The house is in what has been designated as a proposed blighted area. She andother residents disagree with that label. | Leah Beane

Rick and Eric Ruhr talk with North Central Neighborhood Association President Pat Fowler on May 3about an upcoming meeting to discuss issues of concern to the residents of the neighborhood. TheRuhrs are two of many in the neighborhood who believe the term "blighted" should not be applied tothe homes in the area. | Leah Beane


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From left, Ethan Braughton, Dave Dollens and other Occupy CoMo protesters march down CherryStreet on May 1. Some of the Occupy CoMo marchers were protesting the proposed blight decree. | Sam Gause

Whitney Nichols, left, baby-sits for Kate McGaughey, 6, and Jeff McGaughey, 8, on April 23 at theMcGaugheys' home in the Old Hawthorne neighborhood. The upscale community off Route WW ineast Columbia was included in a blight designation approved by the Columbia City Council on Feb.6. The council has since rescinded that decree, which was based on 2000 census data. | GrantHindsley


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Related ArticlesColumbia residents plan second APeople's Visioning conference



Some Columbia residents are worried about the potential effect of a proposed blight decree in North Central and

other neighborhoods. ¦ Missourian staff

COLUMBIA — Pat Fowler has come a long way from stacking paint cans behind her front door.

At the far end of her front hall, her kitchen is in a state of organized chaos. Recipes are penciled

on the walls. The ceiling is open to the rafters and new insulation.

At the near end of the hall, Fowler eyes a refurbished living

room, the first victory in her effort to restore her home on

North Sixth Street "to as close to its original condition as

(she) can afford."

She peers in with a look of comic guilt as she describes the

green and gold of her grandmother’s house, a color scheme

she found laughable in her youth.

"Here I am all these years later, and I painted a room

Roses grow at the front of Eric Ruhr's extensive backyard garden in early May on Seventh Street.Ruhr plants things that flower at different times in the season and has a sign that reads: "My favoriteflower is always the one that is blooming now." Ruhr's home could fall within the boundaries of anenhanced enterprise zone that would provide tax incentives for development that producesinvestment and jobs. | Leah Beane


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Columbia's blight debate: EEZs'value as job-creation tool unclear

Columbia's blight debate: Timeline ofenhanced enterprise zone effort

Columbia's blight debate: How anEEZ benefits businesses

avocado," she said.

Fowler is one of many North Central Columbia

neighborhood residents improving their properties. A

sparsely attended church was converted to an art center for

children. Rental properties have been fitted for energy

efficiency. Fowler would like to see the degree of personal

investment her neighbors put into their homes and their

community encouraged.

It’s a trend she fears will flatten under the weight of a blight decree that would be required if

the city follows through on a plan to establish an enhanced enterprise zone to create tax

incentives for economic development.

Toward that end, the Columbia City Council passed a resolution Feb. 6 establishing an EEZ

board and declaring much of the city blighted or near blighted. The whole of the North Central

neighborhood fell under the original blanket designation.

The council rescinded that resolution May 7 but already has introduced an ordinance to get the

EEZ process back on track by re-establishing the board. Members of the previous board had

been revising zone boundaries. Their most recent version excludes Fowler's home but still

includes the northern half of her North Central neighborhood.

Promoted by officials at Regional Economic Development Inc. as an incentive to spur job

creation by luring manufacturers to Columbia, the EEZ program continues to face strong

pushback from residents. Concerns fester in particular around its precursory finding of blight.

Blight’s amorphous definition

Fowler picks her way along an uneven dirt path that cuts through the community garden in the

heart of North Central. She pauses to study a mess of vines before turning in delight.

"Oh, look at the strawberries," she says, gesturing toward the tiny gems budding among the

tangle.

More foliage grows wild across the street in the lawn of a house with a facade pockmarked with

neglect: The paint peels, the porch sags, the door yawns. It is a tick on the body of an otherwise

vital community.

"We have probably half a dozen properties that are in that condition," said Fowler, president of


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the North Central Neighborhood Association. "We’re trying to figure out ways to approach

owners constructively about their properties."

Under some state-sanctioned definitions, just one dilapidated house is ample justification for

declaring North Central blighted. But discrepancies in how blight is interpreted are among the

primary reasons for residents’ angst over EEZs.

Missouri’s EEZ law, Section 135.590 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, defines a "blighted area"

as one that is an economic or social liability by reason of:

The predominance of defective or inadequate street layout.1.

Insanitary or unsafe conditions.2.

Deterioration of site improvements.3.

Improper subdivision or obsolete platting.4.

The existence of conditions that endanger life or property by fire and other causes.5.

Any combination of such factors.6.

REDI President Mike Brooks feels "area" is the key word in that definition.

"The premise here is that it's all based on this (census) block group. You will note that there

has not been one single reference to any individual home, any neighborhood, any commercial

building."

Before it passed the Feb. 6 resolution, the City Council amended it to say that areas within the

zone need only display "conditions that lead to blight."

Carol Shoemaker, coordinator of enhanced enterprise zones for the Missouri Department of

Economic Development, said at a March 6 forum that blight could amount to something as

simple as a cracked sidewalk. At the same meeting, Mayor Bob McDavid said blight had no

real meaning at all.

Retired Judge Harold L. Lowenstein recognized the haphazard legal standard in a 2009 piece

on blight and redevelopment that appeared in the Missouri Law Review. A finding of blight

must cite only one condition that meets the "unsafe or insanitary conditions" provision, he

wrote. "(B)light, under such broad constructs, is evidently in the eye of the consultant."

REDI tailored its findings to the business sector in this case, Brooks said. "The information

we'll submit for the application only mentions vacant industrial lots, vacant factory buildings.

It's going to be the kinds of infrastructure issues that are deteriorating. This is not about


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picking off people’s properties."

Still, other city officials remained apprehensive about the designation.

On Jan. 25, City Counselor Fred Boeckmann emailed REDI Vice President Bernie Andrews

asking for clarification. "I don't see how the proposed enhanced enterprise zone meets the

statutory requirement that the area be blighted, have pervasive poverty, unemployment and

general distress," he wrote.

But a municipality’s finding of blight often faces much less scrutiny from the state. Lowenstein

wrote that the precedent for judicial review is largely deferential. As such, it "is rarely more

than a rubber stamp of the finding."

Economic side effects

Although city officials declared blight in February to pave the way for economic development,

residents worry that the label will lead to the opposite. Property value ranks high on their list of

potential collateral damage.

The value of one’s home depends on multiple factors, such as neighborhood, schools and

amenities. Fowler said there also are intangibles, such as public perception of a neighborhood.

In his search for evidence of EEZs’ impact on property values, Brooks compiled real estate data

from Springfield — including average home price, percent of asking price received, average

days on the market and number of homes sold — into a spreadsheet that spanned 2003 to

2011.

When Brooks shared his work with peers, one pointed to Springfield’s decreased home values

in 2008 as evidence of blight’s adverse effect, REDI Chairman Dave Griggs said.

"Real estate values are a matter of the overall economic climate," Griggs said, noting the

collapse of the housing market. "Of course (they) have flattened."

But it’s perception that troubles Fowler. "If you give a certain part of town a reputation, it

sticks."

She told the story of a "telling" interaction she had with an MU professor who studies poverty

programs.

"I told him where I lived ... and he said, 'Really? I always thought that’s where the poor people


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lived.'" That’s the impression of North Central among those who have not seen it blossom

firsthand, she said.

"We’re not seeing a lot of young families move in, even though this is perfectly affordable for

them," Fowler said. A blight designation, she said, would compromise the downtown

neighborhood’s ability to attract more homeowners and become more vital.

REDI operatives remain unconvinced. They consulted Lee Terry, chief executive officer of the

Columbia Board of Realtors, who reached out to counterparts in St. Joseph, Springfield and

Jefferson City for information about property values within their EEZs.

"St. Joe was the only community where that Realtor director knew there was an enhanced

enterprise zone," Griggs said.

Furthermore, they point to a letter from Allan Moore, owner of REDI investor Moore &

Shryock LLC, as evidence that blight has little effect on real estate.

Griggs tapped Moore to ask contacts in other cities whether an enhanced enterprise zone had

affected property value. Brooks said Moore "talked to (three of) his peers" in Jefferson City,

Springfield and Rolla, two of whom were commercial appraisers.

All three said the designations had resulted in neutral, or even positive, outcomes. In the end,

Moore concluded that "the 'blighted area' designation does not adversely affect the buying and

selling decisions of market participants."

Tracy Greever-Rice, interim director at the Office of Social and Economic Data Analysis and an

opponent of the original EEZ map, found Moore’s report lacking.

"I don’t think we should be basing policy on casual observation and conversation," she said.

Boone County Assessor Tom Schauwecker, the elected official charged with appraising the

value of every property in the county for tax purposes, worked with Moore in the 1980s.

"An appraisal," he said, "is an opinion based on facts." Selling prices rely on a multitude of

intrinsic and environmental factors. His top three: "location, location, location."

Determining how any variable, including a blight decree, will influence a property would be

"speculative," Schauwecker said, adding that a retrospective analysis such as the one Moore did

is the best way to examine how certain conditions affect property values.


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Griggs argued before the City Council on Feb. 6 that an EEZ could enhance property values. He

said he would want his property included in the EEZ because it would increase the chance that

someone might buy it, making it worth more.

Greever-Rice said that assessment fits only if the property owner is of the mind to sell. Griggs’

is a "cruel logic" that more acutely affects areas where people are poor or own less real

property.

A $35,000 house has fewer tangible indications of value than a $1 million house, Greever-Rice

said. Intangibles such as perception, therefore, have a heavier influence on value. Because

Americans accumulate wealth through the value of their homes, a blight designation

disproportionately affects the pockets of homeowners whose properties stand to lose the most

from a negative perception.

"We don't have to take away wealth to create jobs," Greever-Rice said.

Fowler also warned that an EEZ could put homes in danger.

If "you create an incentive for the land under our homes to be more valuable than our homes,"

she said, "you invite people in to acquire our properties, rezone them, and then they will

displace people of modest means that live there."

Eminent domain

Opponents of an enhanced enterprise zone also fear that it will put private property at risk of

eminent domain. Declaring property blighted, they argue, opens the door for the government

to condemn it on the grounds that redevelopment is in the public interest.

Eminent domain is the power vested in governments to take, with "just compensation," private

property for public use. The definition of public use, however, has proven just as subjective as

that of blight.

The most contentious eminent domain case in recent history began with what has famously

become known as "the little pink house." When New London, Conn., condemned Susette Kelo’s

home in 2005 to make way for a redevelopment initiative promising 3,000 new jobs and an

additional $1 million in annual tax revenue, she sued the city.

Kelo’s became the first eminent domain case in more than two decades to reach the U.S.

Supreme Court. The court’s 5-4 decision upheld the governmental practice of acquiring private

land and reselling it to private developers, so long as the redevelopment creates a public


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benefit, such as an increased tax base.

Missouri was one of 42 states to pass legislation limiting eminent domain in the fallout that

ensued. House Bill 1944 most notably featured a provision that barred use of eminent domain

"for solely economic development purposes."

But that’s no comfort to concerned Columbia residents, who argue the EEZ blight designation

and the subsequent desire to eradicate blight function as additional rationale to condemn

property.

"Blight and eminent domain are kissing cousins," Mike Martin, who publishes The Columbia

Heart Beat, said at the inaugural meeting of Citizens Involved and Invested in Columbia. The

political action committee formed in response to the city’s push for an EEZ.

That relationship, however, has an expiration date. The Missouri law also stipulated that

acquisition of blighted property for redevelopment can occur no later than five years after a

blight designation. That means future city councils will have less leeway than feared.

Faced with similar opposition, leaders in Rolla sought legal opinions regarding the connection

between an EEZ and eminent domain. They published a fact sheet that included a comment

from attorney Mark Grimm of Gilmore & Bell P.C.

"There is no authorization in the EEZ law for eminent domain and accordingly, cities and

counties are not allowed to bring condemnation actions under the EEZ law," Grimm wrote.

When the same quote showed up in a fact sheet REDI presented to the Columbia City Council

in February, Brooks was criticized for using Grimm’s opinion out of context despite proper

attribution. Brooks said he hadn’t spoken to the attorney when he first published the quote.

When they did talk, Brooks said Grimm affirmed his stance.

"He would stand by that comment in that document," Brooks said.

MU graduate student Maurice Harris researched the EEZ program as a REDI intern last year.

He said he didn’t consider eminent domain a legitimate consequence of the program because

the blight designation covers entire census blocks.

Parcels in a blighted area must be considered individually, according to Section 523 of the

Missouri Revised Statutes. A government cannot condemn them unless it finds "a

preponderance" of the individual properties blighted.


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"If some desperate city tried to (use eminent domain), it would be easily taken to court," Harris

said, adding that the cost of condemning and acquiring a census block would be

"astronomical."

In light of public fears, state Rep. Chris Kelly, D-Columbia, and other lawmakers pursued

legislation declaring that any finding of blight for enhanced enterprise zone purposes cannot be

used to meet conditions of blight under any other state statute.

Although the original bill, House Bill 2033, received no action after an April 10 public hearing

before the House Economic Development Committee, lawmakers tacked the provision onto a

Senate bill last week. The bill was in conference Thursday.

Columbia’s EEZ board, which was dissolved May 7, also voted to introduce similar legislation

to the City Council.

"I recommend city staff draft a resolution to council saying that no eminent domain will occur

as a result of an enhanced enterprise zone blight designation," board member Carrie Gartner,

who also is executive director of the Downtown Community Improvement District, moved

March 9 to unanimous approval.

Greever-Rice calls the state and local moves to prevent eminent domain an "empty gesture."

Should a legal decision come down to the statutory definition of blight as it relates to an EEZ

and eminent domain, she said, neither piece of legislation offers much protection.

"I don't think it would take a very smart lawyer to say, 'Well, (the definitions are) exactly the

same words,'" she said.

Brooks acknowledged the blight definitions in state EEZ and eminent domain laws are

identical, but he remained adamant that the EEZ statute does not provide for the use of

eminent domain.

That’s a difficult argument to make in a community whose history with blight has featured the

use of eminent domain. In the 1960s, Columbia’s black business district, the Sharp End, was

flattened in the name of urban renewal. Today, the area that includes part of northwestern

downtown includes businesses and public housing.

As demolition occurred in Columbia, the definition of blight was experiencing an awkward

state of flux.

"Through the first half of the 20th century, blight was understood as a condition of


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substandard housing," University of Iowa professor Colin Gordon wrote in a 2003 article for

the Fordham Urban Law Journal. As late as 1949, blighted areas were federally defined as

"predominantly residential."

Between 1949 and 1974, the federal government subsidized urban renewal, helping cities

acquire and clear wide swaths of land and then sell them to private developers. Yet legislation

didn’t require cities to include housing in redeveloped districts, Gordon wrote. Furthermore, by

1965, up to 35 percent of the federal grants could be spent on commercial development.

"Urban business leaders saw urban redevelopment as a means of loosening the 'dirty collar' of

substandard housing that encircled most central business districts," he wrote. "Slums were to

be cleared not for better housing, but for a more abstract faith in local economic development

and growth."

These days, blight’s residential roots have all but disappeared. Its past consequences, however,

remain painfully present.

"What happened in earlier generations ... has created a racial divide in our city that has not

healed yet," Fowler said.

Neighborhood activist Traci Wilson-Kleekamp said substantial public input would be one

means of closing the rift between city hall and residents.

"We don't exactly have a great track record for how we've treated people of color in the past.

We need to be a lot more thoughtful about how we go about doing this process of developing

our local economy," she said.

The data debate

Before the council rescinded its finding of blight May 7, half of North Central had escaped its

shadow. Fowler explained why she continued to speak out.

"Part of my neighborhood association and neighbors are still affected, so I still have what I call

a dog in this fight."

Indeed, the area she specified — "above Wilkes Boulevard all the way to Business Loop, across

Providence Road and north of Sexton" — was still within the zone’s boundaries. Fowler said

she feared for the small businesses in that area.

"Those are the places where we take our cars to get fixed and our metal soldered," she said.


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Offering incentives for development would put those business owners, particularly ones who

lease their buildings, at risk of displacement.

That blight split North Central is but one example of how outdated census blocks can fail to

account for new development. The 2000 census data behind the blight decree fail to reflect

Columbia’s progress in some areas.

Columbia’s population grew 28 percent between 2000 to 2010, and new development exists on

property that was vacant 12 years ago.

"One really good example of an area that we’ve talked about whether or not to include in the

enhanced enterprise zone is the Vanderveen subdivision just north of I-70,"” Greever-Rice

said. "That didn’t exist in 2000. The 2000 census data for that part of Columbia is going to be

inaccurate."

Greever-Rice illuminated another possible kink in the poverty statistics: students. In a college

town such as Columbia, poverty cannot be determined by looking at all households collectively,

she said. Family households must be examined specifically, excluding the number of people

living in situational poverty due to the college lifestyle, she said.

Greever-Rice used her daughter, a student at MU, as an example.

"As a member of our family, she's not poor. As a young adult figuring it out, she's cash poor,"

she said. "That totally skews the way poverty looks in Columbia."

John Blodgett, senior programmer and data analyst for the Office of Social and Economic Data

Analysis, said it struck him as odd that Department of Economic Development representatives

didn’t contact him for help. Blodgett has dedicated more than 30 years to examining and

compiling census data.

"I would think they would have checked sources," he said. "Why would you use 12-year-old

data when you have more recent data?"”

REDI officials say they didn’t have the option of using more recent data. Joel McNutt, project

manager for the state Department of Economic Development, told Andrews in an April 2011

email that 2010 census data was not being used for any of its projects. It’s the state’s job to

determine whether certain areas qualify to be in an EEZ.

"We have no control over the data," Brooks said, adding that while 2010 population and

household data are available, the same is not true for poverty data.


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"So the demographics piece is there," he said. "The psychographic data, if you will, is not."

Blodgett said that doesn’t have to be the case. He could mine the American Community Survey,

a long-form questionnaire the U.S. Census Bureau uses to gather economic and other data

from a sampling of Americans every month, to come up with more recent poverty numbers.

"It’s more timely, and I think overall that it’s probably better," Blodgett said. "The data are out

there. They’re hiding, but they’re out there."

Greever-Rice added, however, that the American Community Survey data can contain large

margins of error. She thinks that might be why the state relies on 12-year-old numbers.

"When you get to the point that you’ve decided on which economic development tools you want

to use," Greever-Rice said, "then you have to respond to the state, or whoever’s offering those

tools, using the process that they have in place and the data that they require."

Where REDI might be at the mercy of the state, the state is at the mercy of the computer

system employed to crunch the numbers. The current program needs to be updated to include

the most recent American Community Survey data, Department of Economic Development

spokesperson John Fougere said in an email.

"The new EEZ system will be available by January 2013," he added.

Yet before any decisions are made, and before any ideas are pursued, Greever-Rice said a

public conversation about the community’s economic values and goals should take place.

"That conversation needs to be open and transparent, and it needs to use the most current,

accurate data available," Greever-Rice said. "We didn’t do that as a community, and there’s no

reason not to stop and do that part."

An opportunity for input

Fowler clearly has caffeine on the brain.

Standing at the rear of the community garden, she becomes animated while speaking of warm

weekends and neighborhood coffee conferences to come. As she talks, she points toward a

picnic table built from recycled lumber. It’s white-washed and covered in pastel hand prints, a

nod to the hands that have contributed so much to North Central.

"This isn’t blight," Fowler concluded. "It’s community."


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The untrained eye can easily miss those little details. That’s why Fowler and others want a

chance to show city officials where to look. While some would settle for the statute-required

public hearing, others would like to see neighborhoods get an official voice.

Dan Goldstein, a leader of Citizens Involved and Invested in Columbia, said the original EEZ

board was too exclusive. REDI "is a private company who put together a private board of

private investors."

Now that the city has the chance to start from scratch, Goldstein hopes residents from affected

communities will have a vote.

An ordinance that would create a new Enhanced Enterprise Zone Board will receive its second

reading and be subject to public comment at the City Council’s May 21 meeting. Should the

council approve it, members will have a chance to recommend appointees to McDavid.

Goldstein said that regardless of the board’s membership, public opinion should factor into

official decisions about an enhanced enterprise zone. If that opinion is negative, he said, the

city should explore other options.

"We should be moving toward programs the public can get behind rather than ones they’ve

united against."

But, in reference to an introductory economics class, Schauwecker said benefits such as those

the EEZ offers often require tradeoffs. With an EEZ, the tax revenue sacrificed at least would

result in jobs that could benefit the entire community, he said.

"We’re not going to solve our economic problems until we send people back to work."

Supervising editor is Scott Swafford.

Columbia's blight debate

Chart | How enhanced enterprise zones benefit businesses

Jobs | Effectiveness of enhanced enterprise zones uncertain

Timeline | Enhanced enterprise zone debate


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Map | Poverty rates, population change in Boone County


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Columbia City Council passes

COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

Keep Columbia Free seeks volunteersfor potential recall petitionBy The Missourian staff

May 19, 2012 | 3:18 p.m. CDT

COLUMBIA — Keep Columbia Free is seeking volunteers to circulate petitions that would seek

to recall any City Council member who votes in favor of recreating an enhanced enterprise zone

board.

The council is scheduled to consider an ordinance Monday night that would re-establish the

board, replacing one the council dissolved at its last regular meeting. The board would be

charged with establishing proposed boundaries for an enhanced enterprise zone. The state EEZ

program requires that areas within the zone be blighted.

If the council approves the zone, some businesses that locate

or expand within it would be eligible for local tax

abatements and state tax credits. Supporters of the zone,

including representatives of Regional Economic

Development Inc., say the zone would help Columbia and

Boone County compete for manufacturing jobs. Opponents

say that a blight decree would harm property values and

open the door to abuse of eminent domain. They also worry

that the incentives would erode the local tax base.

Keep Columbia Free member Mark Flakne issued a news

release Friday warning council members of potential recalls.

"Due to the overwhelming public outcry resulting from the

City Council’s plan to declare large areas of Columbia

'blighted' and create an Enhanced Enterprise Zone, Keep

Columbia Free is asking for volunteers to step forward and

take action to recall any and all current City Council

representatives who choose to ignore the wishes of their

Keep Columbia Free seeks volunteers for potential recall petition http://www.columbiamissourian.com/a/149378/keep-columbia-f...

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ordinance to create new EEZ board

EEZ board returns to City Councilengaged constituents and vote in favor of establishing an

EEZ board," the news release said.

Keep Columbia Free seeks volunteers for potential recall petition http://www.columbiamissourian.com/a/149378/keep-columbia-f...

2 of 2 4/23/13 12:54 PM

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Related Media

COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

Columbia's blight debate: EEZs' value asjob-creation tool unclearBy Hannah Cushman, Madeline O'Leary

May 20, 2012 | 6:00 a.m. CDT

A vacant building at 1391 Boone Industrial Drive is within the proposed boundaries of an enhanced enterprise zone

for Columbia. ¦ Parker Miles Blohm

COLUMBIA — Vacant factory buildings blemish the roadsides of Route Z, Prathersville Road

and Vandiver Drive, towering over parking lots that span concrete flats the size of several

football fields. "For sale" signs — symbols of the manufacturing sector’s eight-year decline in

Columbia and Boone County — mark the barren, industrial landscape.

Boone County has lost 1,920 manufacturing jobs since 2004, according to a report Regional

Economic Development Inc. delivered to the Columbia City Council on Jan. 17.

"There’s a significant number of people who were in

manufacturing ... who are now working part time at

Walmart and part time at Hy-Vee," REDI Chairman Dave

Columbia's blight debate: EEZs' value as job-creation tool unclear http://www.columbiamissourian.com/a/149236/columbias-bligh...

1 of 9 4/23/13 12:46 PM

A vacant building at 2207 NelwoodDrive was included within theproposed boundaries of an enhancedenterprise zone.

A vacant building sits at 1391 BooneIndustrial Drive. It is within theproposed boundaries of an enhancedenterprise zone. REDI officials hopeto attract manufacturing industries toreplace jobs lost during therecession.

Here is a PDF of a PowerPointpresentation prepared for theRegional Economic Development Inc.Board of Directors. It shows whichemployers and which areas of thecity, primarily industrial, would betargeted for development incentivesunder an enhanced enterprise zone.


REDI, city advisory board

Griggs said. "I’d hate to guess at the number of qualified

electricians and carpenters who have moved from our

community to follow the work."

REDI officials say the enhanced enterprise zone program

has the potential to bring those factory jobs back to Boone

County. EEZ tax incentives would provide job opportunities

for the unemployed and underemployed by encouraging

manufacturers to expand or locate in the county.

In fact, REDI President Mike Brooks said there’s a company

waiting in the wings right now, but its move to Columbia

depends heavily on available incentives.

"We’re trying to figure out if we can make the deal work,"

Brooks said. "It’s an early-stage company, so the (tax

incentives) would be very meaningful to them."

Brooks hopes an enhanced enterprise zone will provide

those incentives. The City Council’s recent rescission of a

February resolution that established an Enhanced

Enterprise Zone Board and declared much of the city

blighted or near blighted, however, has stalled the city’s

application for an EEZ.

REDI’s pursuit of an EEZ has faced harsh criticism.

Opponents caution against reduced property values, an

erosion of city and county tax bases and the prospect of

government abuse of eminent domain. It’s doubtful, they

say, that an EEZ would create enough jobs to justify the

incentives or that it would do anything to benefit the people

who need jobs most.

Areas and industries best-suited to Columbia’sneeds

Before the rescission of the EEZ resolution, REDI identified

targeted areas zoned for industrial development within the

proposed zone boundaries. Several of those areas are


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representatives discuss EEZ withneighborhood delegates



Author to discuss EEZ, alternatives atColumbia library

Columbia's blight debate: Old dataused to examine poverty, population


Columbia's blight debate: A questionof jobs vs. neighborhood values


considered “certified sites.”

Certified sites, REDI Vice President Bernie Andrews

explained at the April 11 meeting of the EEZ board, are

shovel-ready sites with infrastructure in place. Columbia’s

Ewing Industrial Site — complete with sewer systems, gas

and electricity — is one such tract.

"This is an advantage because the businesses looking to

relocate to these sites would save six or seven months on

construction," Griggs said.

The EEZ also would target specific industries. North

American Industry Classification System codes — six-digit

figures that categorize companies for the purpose of data

collection — allow cities and counties to customize EEZs to

suit their needs by designating who is eligible for tax benefits.

MU graduate student and former REDI intern Maurice Harris did most of the research on the

EEZ application process in the summer of 2011. He said the program’s malleability is part of its

appeal.

Griggs told the EEZ board at a Feb. 23 meeting that a REDI subcommittee emphasized

manufacturing when listing eligible codes. State statutes make religious organizations,

educational services, public administration, retail, gambling and food-and-drink

establishments ineligible for EEZ benefits.

Brooks cited food manufacturers and data centers as likely areas for expansion.

The strings attached to EEZs, Griggs said, are "less onerous" than those tied to other incentive

programs such as Chapter 100 bonds, which have associated legal fees alone that can exceed

the minimum investment required by an EEZ.

"An enhanced enterprise zone allows us to provide access to state tax credit programs that

(are) not available through any other means to many, many companies in Columbia," Griggs

said.

Brooks said he’s attracted to EEZs because of the number of high-quality jobs Columbia has

lost over the past decade. While many manufacturing jobs have disappeared, the city has


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gained 4,000 new jobs in the food and retail sectors. Still, the average annual wage in those

sectors was about $19,000 in 2009, less than half the manufacturing average of $39,000.

"This isn’t a damning discussion about those jobs" in food and retail, Brooks said. "It is rather

an acknowledgement that if we as a community don’t do something different, we’re not going

to change that trend line for the manufacturing jobs."

EEZs’ effectiveness unclear

It’s difficult to tell whether EEZs work well in Missouri because the program is relatively young

and because thorough oversight has been lacking. In 2010, the State Auditor’s Office panned

the Missouri Department of Economic Development’s management of the program.

State auditors analyzed data from all 58 EEZs and visited four around the state in 2007 and

2008. They produced a 20-page report titled “Enterprise Zone and Enhanced Enterprise Zone

Tax Credit Programs.”

The Department of Economic Development, the report said, had done too little to verify

information provided by businesses that applied for credits and therefore fell short in

determining whether the businesses were meeting expectations for economic benefits.

"As of March 30, 2010, only 15 of the 51 businesses that had been issued enhanced enterprise

zone tax credits since the inception of the program in 2006 had been visited" by the

Department of Economic Development, the audit report said.

Auditors also found that "the business investment and jobs assumptions used to create the

economic forecasts provided to the General Assembly" were overly ambitious. Tax incentives

contributed to 6.1 percent fewer jobs and 29.5 percent less investment than businesses

projected.

One business, for example, forecast an investment of $40 million in its first year but only spent

$2.9 million during that time period. That’s a nearly 93 percent difference.

The department also gave false economic benefit information to the General Assembly in a tax

credit analysis form, the audit said. Auditors selected 40 businesses that submitted

information to the Department of Economic Development in 2008. The department provided

inaccurate investment assumptions for 17 of them. That’s an error rate of 43 percent.

"One business submitted an estimate to (the department) indicating it would invest

$11,388,848; however (the department) used an assumption of $49,358,848 (333 percent


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more) in the economic forecast," the report detailed. "Another business’s notice of intent to

(the department) estimated it would invest $5,697,000, but (the department) used an

assumption of $87,600,000 (1,438 percent more) in the economic forecast."

The audit report drew two main conclusions about the EEZ program:

The Department of Economic Development does not adequately monitor businesses

receiving credits.

1.

The economic benefits of the program as reported to the legislature are overstated.2.

These weaknesses, the report said, "make it difficult to determine whether the programs are an

effective use of state resources."

The Missourian provided Griggs and Brooks a copy of the audit report. After reviewing it,

Brooks said one has to consider lapses between the time a project is proposed, the time tax

credits are administered and the time jobs are created.

"It would appear there are more announcements of awards each year, which would indicate

that communities are able to use this program to create jobs and investments with these tools,"

Brooks said in an email.

When public ire about the EEZ application piqued her interest, neighborhood activist Traci

Wilson-Kleekamp submitted a request under the Missouri Sunshine Law for all email

correspondence among REDI and city officials regarding the EEZ. What she found in the

emails dissatisfied her.

Wilson-Kleekamp expressed frustration with the apparent lack of empirical evidence that EEZs

work.

"In all the records, you will not find any substantive or deliberative conversation that shows

that (REDI) did any research to prove that this is the most viable, productive tool that they

have in their chest to resolve the economic development issue we have," Wilson-Kleekamp

said.

In terms of "process, policy and professionalism," she contended, both REDI and the city have

missed the mark.

The emails Wilson-Kleekamp obtained, which she shared with the Missourian, indicate REDI

tried to get some data. On Feb. 13, Andrews from REDI asked Carol Shoemaker, an incentive

specialist with the Missouri Department of Economic Development, whether she could provide


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fiscal year-end reports for other EEZs so that REDI could gauge their effectiveness.

Shoemaker said no.

"That would be in the form of a Sunshine Request," she replied. "You could request any of the

existing zones to send you their annual report, and that would be their choice to do so or not."

Shoemaker did provide "general information." She said 198 companies had been approved for

EEZ credits and 49 more were in the process. Approved companies proposed a total of 11,620

jobs and $2.33 billion in investment, most over a five-year period.

Shoemaker offered other numbers during a March 6 forum. There, she said EEZ projects have

generated 5,115 jobs and $1.6 billion worth of new investment in Missouri. She also reported

that the state's annual cap on EEZ tax credits has increased from $4 million to $24 million over

the past three years.

The state has issued $22.2 million in EEZ tax credits since the program's inception in 2004,

Department of Economic Development spokesman John Fougere said in an email. Spread out

over an eight-year period, that's less than the current cap for one year.

Per Shoemaker’s advice, REDI obtained annual EEZ reports from Springfield, where four

zones are in place. Figures from 2010 show those Springfield zones produced 89 jobs and $8.4

million worth of investment.

Still, data on the 7-year-old EEZ program are mixed. Shoemaker also said March 6 that the

average zone that month held four businesses that invested a total of $3.1 million and

collectively created 97 jobs. In Columbia, that would account for a little more than 5 percent of

the nearly 2,000 manufacturing jobs the city has lost over the past decade.

Wilson-Kleekamp said an EEZ might be but a single instrument in an economic policy toolbox

that should involve a range of strategies and a detailed plan of attack.

"To me, that is the meat and potatoes of what we should be talking about," she said. Before

officials can decide on a strategy to combat unemployment, "they need to have a very robust

conversation about what ails our unemployed."

Wilson-Kleekamp said leveraging existing resources, such as the Columbia Area Career Center

and MU research, could be a way to create more and better jobs "without putting so many

people as collateral."


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During public comment at the May 7 City Council meeting, Second Ward resident Khesha

Duncan said it is important to provide opportunities to people who live within an EEZ.

"I just don’t think it’s ethically and morally OK to use people for their poverty or

unemployment, then turn around and not be able to guarantee that they will be the first in line

when living-wage jobs are brought in the community," Duncan said.

Creating a comprehensive plan to offer that assurance would be a "giant step" toward building

a bridge of trust, she said.

Although the former Enhanced Enterprise Zone Board discussed whether to offer extra

incentives to companies that employ zone residents, Brooks said that’s unlikely given the

difficulty of documenting those hires.

"I don’t think there’s any question that we’ll do what we can to encourage (that), but, you

know, it’s going to be limited," Brooks said. "The fact is, you offer jobs, and you hope that

people will take the opportunity."

Hope is not enough if REDI wants to remedy unemployment by rejuvenating a depressed

sector of the city’s economy, Wilson-Kleekamp said. She’d like to see REDI and the council

develop a firm rubric for attracting specific businesses and holding them accountable for job

creation, as other communities have tried to do.

REDI already employs the Synchronist Business Information System to weed out companies

that might come to town and capitalize on incentives, only to leave when they expire.

Synchronist is a survey that gauges several variables, such as a company’s value, potential for

growth and likelihood of downsizing or leaving a community.

The system also measures a company’s needs, such as available workforce. Brooks identified

the training of said workforce as one of REDI’s primary concerns.

With the proper skills and work ethic, Griggs said, residents of affected areas will have the

opportunity to take advantage of entry-level manufacturing jobs and potentially advance to

higher positions.

"This program and how we are targeting manufacturing jobs with it truly can be a tremendous

benefit to the lower socioeconomic class, who doesn’t have the bachelor’s degree, who doesn’t

have four or six years of college," he said.

The need for change


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Subdued celebration resonated through the City Council chambers May 7, when the resolution

that established blight and the EEZ board was rescinded. Amid the quiet victors, others rose to

speak about the need for jobs to alleviate poverty.

Tim Rich, executive director at Heart of Missouri United Way, pointed to unemployment as the

"real crisis" in Columbia. Jobs, he said, are key to the United Way’s efforts to help people

escape poverty.

Rich said he knows this because his parents worked hard to rise from poverty.

"They had to change the way they lived. They had to move out of the community they were in to

find jobs. We don’t want that to happen here. We want the jobs to remain here."

Despite "mind-boggling" statistics — 43 percent of children in Columbia public schools are

eligible for free or reduced-price lunches — Rich thinks many Columbia residents don’t

understand the problem because they’ve never driven through an impoverished neighborhood

nor met a person who lives in poverty.

"That is a critical issue because if you can’t see the face of poverty then you do not believe that

it exists," he said.

Peggy Kirkpatrick, executive director of the Central Missouri Food Bank, has seen that hunger

translate to home life, too. She told the council that the food pantry distributed food to 20,596

people in 2010. In 2011, that number climbed to 22,638, a 10 percent increase.

Kirkpatrick believes situational poverty — or poverty caused by circumstances such as job loss

— is driving that trend.

"I have been begging many of you, I have been standing on desks, asking to please put these

people back to work," she said.

One hundred potential jobs at Veterans United Home Loans escaped to Overland Park, Kan.,

CEO Greg Steinhoff told the council.

Founded in Columbia, Veterans United employs close to 900 people, Steinhoff said. Yet a

favorable incentive package led the company to open a new office in a neighboring state.

Overland Park put out a "welcome mat" that made the business environment more conducive

to growth and expansion, he said.

Incentives "matter to companies," Steinhoff said. "They are real decisions that company


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executives make every day, and they certainly impact where those jobs are placed and

ultimately how the people in those areas are benefited."

Steinhoff is also a former director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development. He

said that during his time in Jefferson City he personally approved several EEZ applications.

Although he acknowledged the importance of correct public process when applying for the

program, he lauded EEZs as a tool to "recruit core jobs."

"Core jobs are those jobs that bring net new economic impact to an area," Steinhoff said.

"These are the kinds of jobs that are not in the community currently, the impact being that they

support the creation of other jobs, bring new money to the community and provide

employment to the areas that need those jobs."

Kirkpatrick said she intended to remain impartial about whether to establish an EEZ, but she

added that the program’s potential might be too great to ignore.

"If you put off the enhanced enterprise zone initiative and go back to the drawing board, I don’t

know what that costs," she said. "But it’s just that much further away from getting people back

to work. Let’s get them training, but let’s get the people who already have the life skills back to

work."



Main article | Columbia residents worry about property values and eminent domain in

neighborhoods designated as blighted. Proponents of an enhanced enterprise zone insist the

worries are unfounded and that the city needs to offer incentives to attract manufacturing jobs.





9 of 9 4/23/13 12:46 PM

MoreStory








COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

Columbia's blight debate: Timeline ofenhanced enterprise zone effortBy Hannah Cushman, Madeline O'Leary

May 20, 2012 | 6:00 a.m. CDT

COLUMBIA — Here's a look at how the move toward and the debate about an enhanced

enterprise zone for Columbia and Boone County have evolved.

February 2011: Representatives of Regional Economic Development Inc. express interest in

establishing an enhanced enterprise zone in Columbia and Boone County.

May 2011: REDI Vice President Bernie Andrews sends

REDI President Mike Brooks an email informing him that

MU graduate student and REDI intern Maurice Harris had

begun an informational report on EEZs.

July 13, 2011: Harris presents a report on EEZs, which

includes a summary of the program’s purpose and which

areas of the city would qualify and details of the application

process, to the REDI board of directors. REDI board

members later decide the EEZ program is worthy of further

review.

Aug. 16, 2011: A subcommittee of the REDI board holds its

first meeting. It has three main responsibilities: To

recommend EEZ boundaries, to use North American

Industry Classification System codes to compile a list of

businesses that would be eligible for EEZ benefits and to

recommend how much of a tax abatement the eligible

businesses within the zone should receive.

Aug. 31, 2011: The subcommittee reaches consensus on zone boundaries and eligible

businesses.

Columbia's blight debate: Timeline of enhanced enterprise zone ... http://www.columbiamissourian.com/a/149303/columbias-bligh...

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Sept. 14, 2011: The subcommittee presents its recommendations at a meeting of the full

REDI board, which unanimously approves the pursuit of an EEZ.

Jan. 17: The Columbia City Council at a work session receives a memo summarizing the REDI

subcommittee’s research.

Feb. 6: The City Council approves Resolution 20-12A, which establishes an Enhanced

Enterprise Zone Board and declares 60 percent of Columbia as blighted or having conditions

that lead to blight. The EEZ boundaries also include parts of Boone County. The board is

charged with determining which businesses would be eligible, what level of tax abatement

should be offered and whether the zone boundaries should be revised.

Feb. 22: Citizens Involved and Invested in Columbia forms to oppose the City Council's blight

decree.

Feb. 28: REDI President Mike Brooks and others make a presentation about EEZs to the

Downtown Leadership Council. Brooks apologizes for "public consternation" about the

process.

March 6: Carol Shoemaker, an incentive specialist with the Missouri Department of

Economic Development, leads a community forum on EEZs. Members of the public express

worries about the definition of blight, the potential impact on property values and the potential

abuse of eminent domain.

March 13: Citizens Involved and Invested in Columbia files paperwork with the Missouri

Ethics Commission to become a political action committee.

March 16: The EEZ board and REDI representatives begin revising proposed zone

boundaries.

April 2: At the City Council's regular meeting, Fifth Ward Councilwoman Helen Anthony

inquires about the feasibility of rescinding that part of Resolution 20-12A that established the

boundaries of the EEZ. City Manager Mike Matthes suggests the council wait for a report from

REDI about the potential impact of a rescission on the EEZ application.

April 9: Citizens Involved and Invested in Columbia begins circulating a petition calling for

Resolution 20-12A to be rescinded in its entirety.

April 16: After receiving the REDI report at a regular council meeting and receiving input

from members of the public, Anthony asks that a resolution rescinding the EEZ boundaries be


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placed on the next council agenda.

May 7: The council hears more public testimony for and against the EEZ. On the advice of City

Counselor Fred Boeckmann, it votes to rescind all of Resolution 20-12A. The move dissolves

not only the zone boundaries but also the EEZ board.

May 9: The council holds a two-minute special meeting to introduce Bill 121-12, which would

re-establish the EEZ board. Mayor Bob McDavid says he will accept recommendations from his

council colleagues about whom to appoint if the bill is approved.

Friday: Keep Columbia Free seeks volunteers to collect signatures on petitions to recall any

council member who votes in favor of creating a new EEZ board.

Monday: The council is scheduled to hold a public hearing and vote on the ordinance.


Main article | Columbia residents worry about property values and eminent domain in

neighborhoods designated as blighted. Proponents of an enhanced enterprise zone insist the

worries are unfounded and that the city needs to offer incentives to attract manufacturing jobs.





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COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

Columbia's blight debate: Old data usedto examine poverty, populationBy Samantha Sunne

May 20, 2012 | 6:00 a.m. CDT

Map data ©2013 Google

COLUMBIA — Some citizens are concerned that 12-year-old demographic data might paint an

Columbia's blight debate: Old data used to examine poverty, po... http://www.columbiamissourian.com/a/149150/columbias-bligh...

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MoreStory











inaccurate portrait of Columbia and Boone County. The city's population has grown about 30

percent from 2000 to 2010.

This map shows the population change and poverty rate in

the various parts of Boone County. Poverty data is from the

2006-2010 file of the American Community Survey, which is

administered by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources: American Community Survey and the Office of

Social and Economic Data Analysis


Main article | Columbia residents worry about property

values and eminent domain in neighborhoods designated as

blighted. Proponents of an enhanced enterprise zone insist

the worries are unfounded and that the city needs to offer

incentives to attract manufacturing jobs.




Columbia's blight debate: Old data used to examine poverty, po... http://www.columbiamissourian.com/a/149150/columbias-bligh...

2 of 2 4/23/13 12:53 PM

COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

Columbia City Council passes ordinanceto create new EEZ boardBy Elizabeth Pearl

May 21, 2012 | 11:04 p.m. CDT

Willy Maxwell and others protest the enhanced enterprise zone ordinance outside the Daniel BooneCity Building on Monday night. “This is a race to the bottom,” Maxwell said. | Robert Swain

Columbia City Council passes ordinance to create new EEZ board http://www.columbiamissourian.com/a/149432/columbia-city-c...

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Eugene Elkin, Shari Korthuis and Dawn Zeterberg protest the enhanced enterprise zone ordinanceoutside the Daniel Boone City Building on Monday night. “Everyone is stepping up, it's world wide,”said Elkin. | Robert Swain

Dozens of people gathered to speak and hear discussion about the enhanced enterprise zoneordinance at the City Council meeting on Monday night. | Robert Swain


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MoreStory



Columbia residents plan second A

Opponents of an enhanced enterprise zone objected to an ordinance re-establishing an EEZ board at Monday's

Columbia City Council meeting. ¦ Robert Swain

COLUMBIA — A diverse group of demonstrators gathered in front of the Daniel Boone City

Building on Monday to speak out against the enhanced enterprise zone and its related finding

of blight.

Among the throng of protesters gathered around a sign proclaiming "FIGHT THE BLIGHT,"

David Dollens, a 40-year resident of Columbia, said he believes the EEZ will negatively impact

the poor and take taxes away from services like schools and transportation.

"It's going to eat the poor up," Dollens said. He asserted that

Mayor Bob McDavid would not pick anyone who would

represent the people most affected by blight.

Inside, after a two-hour public hearing, the Columbia City

Council unanimously voted Monday to pass an ordinance

that will re-establish the Enhanced Enterprise Zone Board.

The board will replace a previous one the council dissolved

Shari Korthuis takes the floor and speaks out on the enhanced enterprise zone ordinance at the CityCouncil meeting on Monday. Korthuis was one of many people speaking out about the ordinanceand protested outside the Daniel Boone City Building before the meeting. | Robert Swain


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People's Visioning conference






Author to discuss EEZ, alternatives atColumbia library


earlier this month.

The new board will consist of seven members: one appointed

by the Columbia Public School District, one by the taxing

districts within the EEZ and five chosen by the mayor.

McDavid said Monday before the public hearing that if the

board were approved he would reappoint Randy Morrow,

John Strotbeck and Louis Gatewood.

He also said he would appoint attorney Jeremy Root. A

member of Citizens Involved and Invested in Columbia,

Root has to date been an ardent opponent of the EEZ blight

decree. He was recommended by council members Daryl

Dudley and Helen Anthony of the Fourth and Fifth wards,

respectively.

McDavid also said he would appoint Anthony Stanton, whom First Ward Councilman Fred

Schmidt and Douglass Neighborhood Association President Tyree Byndom suggested.

Those appointments became official when the council re-established the board.

Toward the end of the meeting, City Clerk Sheela Amin asked for clarification on how long each

of the mayor's appointees would serve on the board. State law requires that those terms be

staggered.

McDavid appointed Strotbeck and Stanton to four-year terms, Root and Morrow to three-year

terms and Gatewood to a two-year term.

The new board will be charged with advising the council on zone boundaries, reviewing

applications to join the EEZ and monitoring business activity within the zone.

Hoppe expressed hope Monday that the new board would produce much narrower boundaries

for the proposed zone.

The original resolution marked 60 percent of the city as blighted, a contentious categorization

that led to opposition from Columbia residents. Many said they felt that blight would lead

to decreased property values, an eroded tax base and eminent domain abuse.

Mary Hussmann, a member of Grass Roots Organizing, spoke during the meeting about the


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council's role in the city.

"Your job is not to build walls but bridges," she said. "The blight/EEZ plan not only damages

the reputation of Columbia, but is unfair and costly to the residents of Columbia.”

Keep Columbia Free, a political action committee, announced a plan Friday to circulate a

petition to recall the council members who voted in favor of the ordinance and another to put

an initiative on the next ballot to rescind it.

The group, said member Mitch Richards, will begin gathering signatures immediately despite

the unanimous vote.

"Tomorrow's another day," he said.


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COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

EEZ board returns to City CouncilBy Jessica Salmond

May 21, 2012 | 2:20 p.m. CDT

COLUMBIA — The Columbia City Council is poised to revisit the Enhanced Enterprise Zone

Board — this time, in the form of an ordinance.

The council established the EEZ Board with Resolution 20-12 on February 6, but when the

resolution was rescinded May 7 after months of public unrest, the board was dissolved.

On Monday night, the council will vote whether to

reestablish the board after a public hearing. The ordinance

received its first reading May 9.

The new EEZ Board would be structurally identical to its

predecessor. As mandated by Missouri state statute, it would

consist of one member appointed by Columbia Public

Schools, one member appointed by another taxing district

and five members appointed by Mayor Bob McDavid.

The ordinance specifies that the board's responsibilities

would include:

Advising the council on EEZ-related issues.

Assessing applications from within the EEZ.

Submitting an annual progress report to the Missouri

Department of Economic Development.

Karl Skala, a member of Citizens Invested and Involved in

Columbia, predicts the ordinance will pass Monday evening.

With Skala's help, CIVIC has sent out thousands of emails

about Monday's public hearing. Skala has also updated

CIVIC's public and private Facebook pages as well as his

EEZ board returns to City Council http://www.columbiamissourian.com/a/149417/eez-board-return...

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own page about the hearing.

CIVIC has been in contact with other groups in its campaign to spread the word, too.

"There has been quite a bit of effort to make people understand this is an important issue,"

Skala said.

With an eye on the future, Skala said he's interested in the mayor's appointments to the

board. Previous members were seated with little input from the council or the public, he said.

But because McDavid decided to accept recommendations from council, Skala is optimistic

about the new board's membership.

"We should be in a better place, and it should result in better represented appointments... But

it's still the mayor's call," Skala said.

Supervising editor is Hannah Cushman.

EEZ board returns to City Council http://www.columbiamissourian.com/a/149417/eez-board-return...

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MoreStory

Related Media

This map is one of two newproposals being discussed by theEEZ Board concerning thedevelopment of enhanced enterprisezones in Columbia.

COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

EEZ Board considers two proposals,neighborhood inputBy Marie French

June 1, 2012 | 6:20 p.m. CDT

COLUMBIA — The new Enhanced Enterprise Zone (EEZ) Board reviewed two new zone

options at its first meeting Friday morning.

Bernie Andrews, executive vice president of Regional Economic Development Inc., talked to

the board about new zone maps called for by the previous board.

There are two proposals currently under consideration. The

first involves one contiguous zone; the second involves two

zones, one in north Columbia and one in south Columbia.

Andrews described potential manufacturing and industrial

sites, as well as existing manufacturers, within the

boundaries of zones in both scenarios.

Andrews said two of the three proposed maps would not

contain any new census blocks. The north zone would

incorporate one new census block, which includes the

Parkade neighborhood.

"There is a company that is considering moving to

Columbia, and it’s looked at various sites in Columbia,"

Andrews said. "The only site that would work for that

company is in that (new) census block group."

Andrews said the contiguous map proposal required the

addition of three primarily residential census block groups

in order to qualify for the program, resulting in a total of 14.

The north zone map would include only eight census block

groups, while the south zone map would include four.

EEZ Board considers two proposals, neighborhood input http://www.columbiamissourian.com/a/149787/eez-board-consi...

1 of 3 4/23/13 12:51 PM

This map is one of two newproposals being discussed by theEEZ Board concerning thedevelopment of enhanced enterprisezones in Columbia. This map showsthe northern zone in a two-zone plan.

This map is one of two newproposals being discussed by theEEZ Board concerning thedevelopment of enhanced enterprisezones in Columbia. This map showssouthern zone in a two-zone plan.





Columbia's EEZ Board votes toexpand job creation requirement




EEZ Board discusses property taxabatement, job creation requirements

EEZ Board discusses environmentalconcerns, property values

John Strotbeck, the newly re-elected chair of the board, said

there were few negatives to creating two separate zones.

“It’s basically administrative,” Strotbeck said. “It’d be two

applications.”

Anthony Stanton, one of the board's new members, raised

the issue of using 2000 data instead of 2010 census data.

The Missouri Department of Economic Development, which

administers the EEZ program, has not yet updated the

poverty information it uses to qualify census blocks for an

enhanced enterprise zone. While the state will consider only

the 2000 data, Stanton said the board should still look at the

2010 data.

“We’re exceeding the minimum requirements,” Stanton

said.

Jeremy Root, another new board member, agreed the most

recent data for poverty should inform the board’s decisions.

“I think our community has asked for us to understand it,

and they’re going to ask for City Council to understand it, as

well,” Root said.

Root also said he wanted the board to get input from

residents within the zone, since they were most likely to be

affected. The board members discussed the issue and

informally agreed to invite affected neighborhood

associations to future meetings once the zone proposals are

finalized.

“We don’t want to create any bigger fights than we have to,”

Stanton said.

Strotbeck asked whether the Columbia City Council had any

timeline for the recommendation. REDI President Mike

Brooks said there is a company interested in coming to


2 of 3 4/23/13 12:51 PM

Columbia that is looking at tax incentives.

Catherine Parke, a member of Citizens Involved and Invested in Columbia who attended

Friday's meeting, said the process should not be rushed.

“That there might be a company that is considering coming to Columbia has nothing to do with

it,” Parke said. “All the time that needs to be taken must be taken.”

The board also voted against adopting the previous board’s list of North American Industry

Classification System codes, opting instead to discuss which sectors would be eligible at the

next meeting.

Andrews also reviewed the board’s duties. Per its establishing ordinance, the board is

responsible for making recommendations to the council on areas for a zone, identifying eligible

industries and deciding on appropriate levels of tax abatement.

Andrews said the issue of blight was outside the scope of the board's purview and an issue for

council to deal with.

“They certainly are aware of the issue of blight and are looking for avenues to address that,”

Andrews said.

Supervising editor is Hannah Cushman.


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MoreStory

COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

EEZ opponents rally at Columbia CityCouncil meetingBy Marie French

June 18, 2012 | 10:39 p.m. CDT

Nestor Mackno, left, Jacob Fasching and Mike Diel hold signs to protest the enhanced enterprise zone Monday

evening in front of the Daniel Boone City Building, where the City Council was meeting. ¦ Caitlin Jones

COLUMBIA — More than 60 people demonstrated outside of the Columbia City Council

meeting on Monday night to show continued opposition to the potential establishment of an

enhanced enterprise zone in Columbia.

The demonstrators filed inside just before the council meeting began. Despite Mayor Bob

McDavid's acknowledgement of the crowd – urging them against any "demonstrative actions"–

both the mayor and the council members were largely unresponsive to the show of opposition.

The council was not voting on or introducing any

EEZ opponents rally at Columbia City Council meeting http://www.columbiamissourian.com/a/150319/eez-opponents-r...

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EEZ-related actions at the meeting.

During the scheduled public comments portion of the

council meeting, David Stokes, a policy analyst for the

Show-Me Institute, presented preliminary results from an

analysis of the original Enterprise Zone Tax Benefit program

to show that programs like EEZ are not effective.

Established in 1982, the Enterprise Zone program was a

precursor to the EEZ program. Like EEZ, the Enterprise

Zone program provided tax credits for job creation and

investment by companies within established zones. The

Missouri Department of Economic Development began to

phase it out in 2004 by state statute in favor of the EEZ

program.

Stokes said he compared economic data from counties in

Missouri with large zones to bordering counties without an enterprise zone. He said he found

no significant difference in the economic performance of the two samples between 1980 and

2005.

“Whatever the numbers may be, the burden of proof is on the wrong foot,” Stokes said. “It

should be the burden of supporters of such things to prove that they work.”

An EEZ is a state-run program that provides tax incentives at the state level and requires the

local government to provide a property tax break of at least 50 percent on new real property

investment. To qualify for the tax breaks, the companies must invest a minimum amount on

facility improvement and create at least two jobs.

The establishment of an EEZ also requires the area to be declared blighted, which has sparked

opposition to the program. Opponents have also questioned the effectiveness of EEZs at

creating jobs, according to previous Missourian reports.

Stokes said he was invited to speak by Keep Columbia Free, a local organization that opposed

the EEZ program and has initiated a petition for the recall of First Ward councilman Fred

Schmidt because of his support for the EEZ.

After Stokes' address, Mitch Richards, treasurer and spokesperson for Keep Columbia Free,

urged the council to listen to the public opposition to the EEZ program.


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“We ask that you rescind the ordinance and dissolve the Enhanced Enterprise Zone Board,”

Richards said. “We ask that you listen to us.”

Richards asked members of the audience who opposed the EEZ to stand at the end of his

comments. Most of the audience stood and applauded. Many of them were among those

demonstrating outside of City Hall before the meeting.

Before the 7 p.m. council meeting began, the crowd of EEZ protesters outside City Hall grew

from about 25 people to more than 60.

Members of Food Not Bombs served a meal,while demonstrators held signs with slogans like

“Fight the blight."

Several organizations were represented at the demonstration including Citizens Involved and

Interested in Columbia or Civic, Occupy CoMo, Keep Columbia Free and Grass Roots

Organizing.

Mary Hussmann, an organizer for GRO, said she didn’t think the council was listening to the

people.

“You listen to the people, and you change your mind,” Hussmann said. “That’s not a sign of

weakness. That’s a sign of courage.”

The City Council originally passed a resolution in February that created an Enhanced

Enterprise Zone Board and declared more than half of Columbia blighted.

This resolution was rescinded on May 7, but an ordinance re-establishing the EEZ Board was

passed on May 21. The EEZ Board is still working on formulating its recommendations to the

council.

President of Keep Columbia Free Mark Flakne said the council's unanimous re-establishment

of the EEZ Board showed that city council was not listening.

“We feel that we have been ignored,” Flakne said. “At least now they see why they’re being

recalled, or why they’ll lose the next election.”

Supervising editor is Ted Hart: [email protected], 882-7884


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COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

SHOW ME THE RECORDS: EnhancedEnterprise Zone summaryBy Karen Miller

June 18, 2012 | 12:01 a.m. CDT

Each week, the Missourian highlights a government record that is available to the public.

Open records help people keep government in check and help them better understand how

government affects their lives.

For a complete list of Show Me the Records, go to http://columbiamissourian.com/records.

The records: Documents from the city and the Missouri

Department of Economic Development relating to an

enhanced enterprise zone in Columbia.

Why you’d want them: Regional Economic Development

Inc. is pushing for an Enhanced Enterprise Zone in

Columbia. The zone will provide businesses with tax credits.

However, there has been controversy over declaring areas

"blighted" in order to qualify.

Where you get the records: Documents are available on

the Enhanced Enterprise zone document page.

How much it will cost: The information is free.

SHOW ME THE RECORDS: Enhanced Enterprise Zone summary http://www.columbiamissourian.com/a/146998/show-me-the-re...

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SHOW ME THE RECORDS:Missouri court records availableonline

SHOW ME THE RECORDS: MUdemographics and financialcomparison

SHOW ME THE RECORDS: Enhanced Enterprise Zone summary http://www.columbiamissourian.com/a/146998/show-me-the-re...

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COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

REDI, city advisory boardrepresentatives discuss EEZ withneighborhood delegatesBy Dani Vanderboegh

October 8, 2012 | 11:49 p.m. CDT

¦ Matthew Schacht

REDI, city advisory board representatives discuss EEZ with ne... http://www.columbiamissourian.com/a/154381/redi-city-adviso...

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*This story has been changed to indicate that the Enhanced Enterprise Advisory Board will

meet next week but that it will be a few weeks before it submits proposals to the Columbia

City Council and the Boone County Commission for approval.

COLUMBIA — Residents of neighborhoods included in proposed boundaries for two enhanced

enterprise zones met with representatives of Regional Economic Development Inc. and the

chair of a city advisory board Monday night to ask questions and offer their feedback on the

latest version of the plan.

REDI board chairman Dave Griggs and executive vice

president Bernie Andrews led the informational meeting.

The 18 attendees included City Council members Gary

Kespohl and Michael Trapp as well as representatives from

five of the 15 neighborhood associations that were invited.

Griggs and Andrews explained the newest version of the

enhanced enterprise zones and the benefits of EEZ to

Columbia. Board members expect that EEZ will:

Increase competitive business recruitment and job creation

in Columbia.

Allow Columbia to compete with other cities in Missouri for

business bids.

Currently, there are 122 EEZs in Missouri. In relation to

cities of Columbia's size: Springfield has four, St. Joseph has one, Independence has two,

Jefferson City has one, and Kansas City has three.

Be used as a significant tool to support manufacturers currently operating in Columbia.

The Enhanced Enterprise Advisory Board has been working since late spring to revise a

proposal for creating the zone or zones, which would make some businesses that expand or

locate within them eligible for state and local tax incentives.

A previous board was dismantled in May after the Columbia City Council heard considerable

opposition from the public to a previous recommendation that would have placed a large

percentage of the city and parts of Boone County in an EEZ. Opponents decried the declaration

of blight that accompanies an EEZ, and they worried it would harm property values and


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prompt the city to use eminent domain to acquire private property for redevelopment.

The new advisory board has worked with REDI to produce maps for two proposed EEZs known

as the north and south zones.

The north zone would encompass the Route B corridor, industrial areas east of Range

Line Street, much of Business Loop 70 and several neighborhoods, including Parkade,

Ridgeway, Douglass, North-Central and Derby Ridge. A report from REDI indicates the

north zone is home to several manufacturing plants that have closed or experienced

significant layoffs since 2005.

The south zone would include LeMone Industrial Park, the Discovery Ridge Research

Park, the Crosscreek development, Lenoir Woods Senior Center, the Shepard Hills

subdivision on Timberhill Road and the High Hills mobile home community.

*The EEZ Advisory Board will continue to discuss the zone boundaries and the types of

businesses that will be eligible for tax incentives. It's next meeting is 5 p.m. Oct. 17 in

Conference Room 1B of the Daniel Boone City Building. The board's recommendations will be

subject to public hearings and the approval of the Boone County Commission and the

Columbia City Council City Council. Board member Jeremy Root said he doesn't expect

commission or council action until after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Residents were invited to voice concerns throughout Monday night's meeting. One major

concern was distrust between the community and the city. Several attendees referred to the

Sharp End urban renewal project of the 1960s as the cause for their distrust.

"I'm feeling like we need to collectively talk about the history of displacement," North Central

Columbia Neighborhood Association President Pat Fowler said. "We have that history, and it

sits in the middle of every conversation we have."

Another concern Fowler addressed was the longevity of employment created by the EEZ

businesses. Each business in Columbia would be required to hire 10 new employees, offer

health insurance and pay for half the cost and pay 75 percent of the county average wage,

which is currently $32,565. That equals about $24,500 annually.

Fowler's concern was that families will have difficulty living on less than $40,000 a year. She

argued that public assistance would become a necessity and that a long-term plan for upward

mobility would serve the community better.


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There has to be a way that a city can create jobs and raise wages while not displacing people,

Fowler said.

Residents also asked for data on other cities and their economic progress since their creation of

EEZs. Several residents suggested that REDI provide more information about the process of

establishing zones.

EEZs are established through the Missouri Department of Economic Development and must

meet not only the requirements for a blight declaration but also certain demographic criteria.

At least 60 percent of the residents of an EEZ must have incomes below 90 percent of the

county or state median income, and residents collectively must have a level of unemployment

greater than or equal to that of the county or state.



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COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

Columbia residents plan second APeople's Visioning conferenceBy Matthew Schacht

October 9, 2012 | 5:07 p.m. CDT

COLUMBIA – Columbia residents dissatisfied with the city-led process that led to the creation

of the vision known as Imagine Columbia's Future in 2008 plan to hold a second conference on

generating ideas for Columbia's future.

Organizer Monta Welch said two main concerns unite the citizens group: skepticism about

whether enhanced enterprise zones will deliver well-paying jobs and a sense of urgency that the

city must phase out non-renewable energy such as coal.

Other topics on the agenda include transportation, public

health, education, and food and water security, among

others.

Small groups will spin off from the conference and meet

regularly in the weeks after Wednesday's gathering.

The grassroots effort, dubbed A People's Visioning, held its

first conference Aug. 27, and about 70 people attended.

Since then, the group has generated a tentative list of ideas

about how to improve the city.

"It has been a process of folks from all sides of the aisle,

liberals and conservatives and everyone in between," Welsh

said. "Folks in the community should know that something

is being done with the visioning at the grassroots level."

Ideas the groups have brainstormed so far include fostering

community gardens; protecting historic neighborhoods with

overlay zoning designations, using micro-loans and local

credit unions to foster neighborhood revitalization and

Columbia residents plan second A People's Visioning conference http://www.columbiamissourian.com/a/154411/columbia-residen...

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Commission "mom-and-pop" businesses, and finding creating ways to

encourage green technologies that keep climate issues in

mind.

The people's visioning group will meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Friends Room of the

Columbia Public Library. The gathering will start with refreshments and live music, and

discussions will begin at 7 p.m.

For more information, contact Welch at (573) 443-4117, or visit the group's Facebook page.


Columbia residents plan second A People's Visioning conference http://www.columbiamissourian.com/a/154411/columbia-residen...

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COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN

City Council sends eminent domainamendment to April ballotBy Dan Burley

November 19, 2012 | 11:45 p.m. CST

COLUMBIA — On April 3, voters will have their say on the city's eminent domain power.

The Columbia City Council unanimously approved a charter amendment Monday night that

prevents the city from exercising eminent domain for economic development with the

intention of transferring the property to private entities.

The amendment stemmed from public discussion regarding

a proposed enhanced enterprise zone, or EEZ, Sixth Ward

Councilwoman Barbara Hoppe said during the meeting.

An EEZ is a state-run program that provides tax incentives

to spark expansion of existing businesses or manufacturing

companies and the development of new small businesses. To

apply to the state for the creation of an EEZ, the proposed

area must be declared "blighted or possessing conditions

that lead to blight."

The blight designation worried opponents of an EEZ. They

feared areas of the city declared blighted might be at a

greater risk of eminent domain. Eminent domain is the

power vested in governments to take, with "just

compensation," private property for public use.

"Blight greases the wheels, as they say, for eminent domain,"

Monta Welch, head of A People's Visioning and an EEZ

opponent, said before the meeting.

In response to the public dissatisfaction, Hoppe asked city

staff about a possible amendment to the city's charter that

City Council sends eminent domain amendment to April ballot http://www.columbiamissourian.com/a/156134/city-council-sen...

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limits the use of eminent domain for economic development, according to city documents. She

cited the recent Supreme Court case on eminent domain, Kelo v. New London, as reason to

further articulate the city's power.

She presented a charter amendment in September that limited the city's right to exercise

eminent domain to acquire property unless the property was previously declared blighted.

The amendment's language, however, created concern that the council was laying out a process

for exercising eminent domain — something the council didn't intend, Second Ward

Councilman Michael Trapp said in an interview.

"We removed it to readdress the language," Fifth Ward councilwoman Helen Anthony said at

the meeting. "Now it's more narrowly construed."

Trapp said he thought the amendment provided no substantive change to the dialogue on EEZ.

"It's a law about a feeling," Trapp said. "Nobody likes (eminent domain) on the left, nobody

likes it on the right. Eminent domain tramples individual rights except in its most narrow use."

Trapp referred to the language added to the state's EEZ charter last spring which specifies that

blight designations for EEZs cannot be used "to meet the conditions for blight under any other

statute of the state," including eminent domain.

Mike Brooks, director of Regional Economic Development Inc., the public-private partnership

pushing for an EEZ, said that everything he’s ascertained from the city’s legal counsel indicates

no connection between the blight designation required for EEZ and the blight designation used

for eminent domain.

“The only thing they have in common is the word ‘blight,’” Brooks said.

Brooks said an EEZ identifies blight in terms of census blocks. Eminent domain identifies

blight in a more specific, parcel-by-parcel manner.

Mary Hussmann, an organizer for Grass Roots Organizers and an EEZ opponent, said she was

pleased with the council's passage of the amendment but thinks of it as a first step.

"It won't help us to vote in April if the proposed EEZ is voted on before then," Hussmann said.

An EEZ Advisory Board, appointed in May by Mayor Bob McDavid, is in the process of defining

boundaries for an EEZ. The board has proposed two zones, but no definite boundaries have


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been identified, Brooks said.

The consternation about EEZs began in February when the council approved a resolution that

established an EEZ and declared 60 percent of Columbia as blighted or having conditions that

lead to blight.

The public outcry over the blight designation by groups such as Citizens Involved and Invested

in Columbia prompted the council to rescind the resolution in May and create the advisory

board.

Supervising editor is Karen Miller.


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