Blight designation in downtown Steamboat Springs may pave way for urban renewal projects
“Poor pedestrian lighting, missing sidewalks and the presence of a flood zone are some of the things that have helped downtown Steamboat Springs join Colorado’s long and growing list of blighted areas.
#Blight is a dirty word that most cities and towns would seem to want to run away from.
#But Steamboat and several other places across the state have sought out the designation because of the significant benefits a blight designation brings along with it.
#A finding of blight allows a municipality to use a powerful tax tool called tax increment financing, or TIF, to redevelop an area and make it more inviting to pedestrians and private developers.
#In downtown Steamboat, the city wants to use TIF specifically to redirect some portion of future sales and property tax revenue from new development toward improvements like better lighting and sidewalks.
#So how does a downtown district that graces the front of so many picturesque postcards get associated with a word as unflattering as blight?”
Franz, Scott. Steamboat Today 25 August 2014.