05-C Lake Crook Study - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

~!t~ of Paris , Stud~ of Lake Crook March, 200,~,,,, professional on staff. The city would certainly obtain a higher price for its land than simply wholesaling the property en masse to the highest bidder but would be assuming all the risk normally carried by private entrepreneurs. Then, too, there would be substantial backlash as to why the city would compete with private enterprise in the first place. This concept bears mention 0nly because it is an option available to the city. But it deserves only mention... The city could form a non-profit development company, staff it with a director/manager/developer, and deed the land over to it. This would not be so much different than industrial economic districts statewide where land is sold at cost to attract industrial/manufacturing concerns to create jobs. The difference is that this land is being sold so that houses can be built and the job creation is only temporary. Local developers will likely oppose any attempt to create a subsidized, competing, residential neighborhood to compete with housing developments citywide. 4.0.2. Economic Development. Several other suggestions have been offered by interviewees during this study. One suggestion was that the city give the land away as some kind of economic development incentive to attract a developer and thereby benefit the city through the growth in the tax base. Others suggested the city should help with the development by paying for off-site water and sewer extensions to ready the property for service. Truthfully, we do not see how the city could give the land away since public law clearly provides that land for sale or exchange, other than to another governmental entity, must be sold by sealed bid Secondly, there is the logistical question of how the city goes about choosing a developer to grace with its land. Clearly this does not fall under any professional services procurement whereby selection is made on qualifications of the individual or firm. And finally, the stewardship question arises as to why the city should even consider giving away land worth admittedly several million dollars. 4.0.3 Risk. Certainly anything worth doing has its own risks. The risk to the city in any subdivision development is that the developer fails to follow through. Depending in which step of development that failure occurs, the consequences to the general public are different. The city may have to take back land it seller-financed or the city may see the land distributed to others and have the 'dream' evaporate on the courthouse steps as the land is auctioned off by a commercial lender to satisfy creditors. Page 38 of 45