Colorado groups lobby Hickenlooper to veto urban-renewal bill

“Commercial real estate developers and municipal leaders are putting a full-court press on Gov. John Hickenlooper, pressuring him to veto a bill that would put new limitations on the creation of urban-renewal districts.

The effort took an interesting twist last week, when speakers at a bill-signing ceremony for a brownfield-redevelopment tax credit extolled the virtues of urban-renewal projects on the economy without directly asking Hickenlooper to use his ability to nix House Bill 1375.

HB 1375, sponsored by House Minority Leader Brian DelGrosso, R-Loveland, would require cities to pledge great percentages of their tax revenues to such urban-renewal districts, which typically are funded through tax-increment financing, if they can’t come to an agreement with counties over the districts’ formation.
It also would require district boards to include at least one member appointed by county officials.”

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Sealover, Ed. Denver Business Journal 23 May 2014.