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JULY 17, 2008
RCGA Joins Growing Coalition To Preserve
Redevelopment Rights And The Revitalization Power Of Eminent
Domain
This morning, the Executive Committee of the RCGA
Board of Directors adopted a resolution for the RCGA to join a
rapidly growing statewide coalition of business and civic groups
to oppose the proposed initiative petitions which seek
to severely restrict the powers of eminent domain in
the Missouri Constitution. The resolution restates the
RCGA's long supported policy of retaining the power of
eminent domain for infrastructure expansion, community
improvement, redevelopment, and continued economic
well-being.
In 2006, the RCGA, the St. Louis business
community and its economic development partners actively
engaged with statewide agricultural and business owners
to agree on new laws to improve protection for private
landowners, maintain the use of eminent domain for blighted and
older urban areas, and continues to include utilities as a
public use. If successful, these proposed
initiative petitions would overturn the
2006 law and could go much further, with the potential to stop
large-scale redevelopment of blighted areas and
the revitalization of Missouri's urban
communities. The proposed amendments could also
adversely affect land use regulations, subdivision ordinances,
environmental controls and the ability of municipalities to
control property nuisances.
The Missouri Secretary of State and
local election authorities are currently reviewing the
signatures gathered for the two possible Constitutional ballot initiative petitions
aimed at restricting the use of eminent domain for economic
development purposes. Both petitions have been filed by
Missouri Citizens for Property Rights and could be placed on the
November ballot. The Secretary of State has until August 12th to
certify the petition.
The proposed Constitutional language
would severely restrict the power of eminent domain to only
governmental bodies and prohibit the transfer of redevelopment
rights to public-private partnerships. These
partnerships have been critical to the redevelopment of aging
infrastructure, the attraction of new inner-city development,
and in reviving a city's tax base. The NorthPark
development in St. Louis County, the Delmar Loop in University
City, and the CORTEX Life Sciences District in St.
Louis are examples of redevelopment projects that would
not have occurred if these proposed Constitutional
amendments were in effect. For more examples on how eminent
domain has been used in major redevelopment to
revitalized communities, click here for a study by the Missouri
Growth Association and supported by the St. Louis RCGA.
The
petition would put utilities and railroads at the mercy of
political subdivisions to undertake condemnations, further
complicating the ability to expand energy needs for economic
development projects. The petition adds new requirements that
render the condemnation process more expensive, time consuming
and cumbersome, which will ultimately lead to higher costs of
public infrastructure. Municipalities and counties would
be severely hampered in their ability to address declining
neighborhoods and improve the health, safety and welfare of
their communities.
The RCGA will continue to keep
its members informed on the progress of this petition and its
harmful impacts on the economic growth of our
region.
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Focus On Illinois: Metro East Levee Repairs
Move Forward
The Metro East region has begun
protecting more than 4,000 businesses and 50,000 jobs with the
start of repairs to the Wood River levee and progress
on funding a comprehensive plan to improve five
levees on the Mississippi River. The Wood River levee
improvements will begin this year, as a financing agreement was
reached earlier this month between the Army Corps of Engineers,
the Wood River Levee District and Madison County. The $6 to $7
million repair project will take 12 to 24 months to
complete and will protect the ConnocoPhillips refinery in
Wood River and other manufacturing sites in the District.
The project is part of a longer-term plan to bring the levee up
to 500-year flood standards.
This spring, the General
Assembly passed SB 2052, sponsored by
Senator Bill Haine
(D-Alton) and Rep. Dan Beiser (D-Alton),
which authorizes Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair County create
Flood Protection Districts with authority to impose a 1/4-cent
sales tax to pay for levee repairs. The tax
would fund up to $180 million in estimated project
costs. In the past two weeks, Madison and St. Clair County
have established their Flood Protection Districts to oversee and
fund their levee improvements and are on target to pass the
necessary resolutions to begin collecting the
revenue. The 1/4-cent sales tax would not apply to
food, medicine or automobiles, and if enacted by August 31st,
the tax would be effective on January 1, 2009. Monroe
County established their Flood Protection District on July
7th.
FEMA released its preliminary flood plain maps, showing
substantial portions of Madison, Monroe and St. Clair counties
as Special Flood Hazard Areas (SHFA) with varying degrees of
flood risk. Absent the action to do the levee improvements,
residents and businesses with the SHFAs would have
been required to purchase flood insurance and adhere to new
elevation standards for construction of any new buildings once
the maps become permanent. As part of the unified
efforts of business leaders and elected officials to address the
levee issues, the region successfully received a new
FEMA-designation for the District as as a restoration (AR) zone,
which is now reflected on the preliminary maps. The AR
designation recognizes that the levees still offer a
significant level of protection and that a 10-year restoration
plan is underway. Should FEMA issue final maps (expected in
mid-2009), the AR designation allows property owners to
purchase flood insurance policies at current rates and allows
for modified structure elevation requirements for new buildings.
Reconstruction of the levee to the new flood
protection standard will greatly improve the 70-year
infrastructure and further protect properties against a 500-year
flood. These improvements will help ensure that
employers and developers can continue to invest in the economic
growth of Southwestern Illinois. For more information on the
Southwestern Illinois Flood Prevention Initiative go to
www.swillinoislevees.com
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Proposition Y
Will Hold Down Regional Sewer Costs And
Improve Infrastructure
On the August 5th primary election
ballot, St. Louis City and St. Louis County voters
will vote on Proposition
Y which authorizes the St. Louis
Metropolitan Sewer District to issue $275 million in bonds for a
five-year capital plan to improve the region's wastewater and
stormwater system. The capital plan will reduce combined
sewer overflows, increase capacity at MSD plants, and better
manage stormwater run-off into area streams and rivers.
As
a member of the Rate Commission, the RCGA recommended
debt-financing over the current pay-as-you go
system to lessen the cost
increases of MSD services for regional
businesses. If approved by the voters, commercial
rates would rise to $305 a month for wastewater and stormwater
services in 2009, compared to $338 if rejected (see below
chart). Over seven years, commercial businesses will pay 21%
less in sewer and stormwater charges if Proposition succeeds. If
Proposition Y fails, MSD will not issue bonds and the current
pay-as-you go financing of the capital plan will continue.
The RCGA supports Proposition Y as an appropriate
balance between the capital improvement needs of our region's
sewer infrastructure and holding down costs for
area businesses.
Proposed MSD Commercial Users - Average Monthly
Bill
(Wastewater and Stormwater
Combined)
| Bill
Date |
If
Proposition Y Passes
(Bonding Approved) |
If Proposition Y
Fails
(Pay-As-You
Go) |
| Jul.
1, 2008 |
$299.84
|
$299.84
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| Jan. 1, 2009 |
$305.08
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$337.81
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| Jan. 1, 2010 |
$320.29
|
$377.62
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| Jan. 1,
2011 |
$347.34
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$420.07
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| Jan. 1, 2012 |
$370.40
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$449.60
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| Jan. 1, 2013 |
$375.64
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$454.84
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| Jan. 1, 2014 |
$378.26
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$457.46
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The
RCGAdvocate is published periodically to inform RCGA members
and government officials about important public policy matters
at the state, federal and local levels. It seeks to provide
timely, in-depth coverage on regional issues, and, at times, to
call RCGA members to action. We welcome your comments and
suggestions.
Richard C.D.
Fleming ~ President & CEO ~ (314)
444-1100 ~ dfleming@stlrcga.org
Chip Casteel ~ Senior V.P. of Public Policy ~ (314)
444-1107 ~ ccasteel@stlrcga.org
Susan Stauder ~ V.P.
of Infrastructure & Public Policy ~ (314) 444-1155
~ sstauder@stlrcga.org
Eric
Schneider ~ Senior Director of Public Policy Research ~ (314)
444-1148 ~ eschneider@stlrcga.org
Kevin Riggs ~ Director of Illinois
Government Affairs ~ (314) 444-1108 ~ kriggs@stlrcga.org
Christine Snively ~ Project Manager ~
(314) 444-1144 ~ csnively@stlrcga.org
Marlo Young ~ Executive Assistant
for Public Policy ~ (314) 444-1134 ~ myoung@stlrcga.org
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. July 21st: Business Forum &
Reception with U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson, at
the Ritz-Carlton Hotel at 100 Carondelet Plaza in Clayton from
5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Now in her seventh-term, Rep. Emerson
represents the Missouri's 8th Congressional District
in Southeastern Missouri and lives in Cape Girardeau. She sits
on the House Appropriations Committee and its Subcommittee on
Agriculture, Energy and Water, and Interior. She is also serves
as vice-president of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, a
legislative assembly of leaders from NATO member nations which
deals with defense capabilities and foreign affairs. This free
event is co-sponsored with the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce. RSVP to Eric Schneider at 
. September 19th: RCGA Public Policy Speaker
Series with internationally-acclaimed pollster 
John Zogby at the Noonday Club from
11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Mr. Zogby and Zogby International has
been tracking public opinion since 1984, and Mr. Zogby's
political polling and insights have been used by candidates and
media outlets around the world. He will speak about the upcoming
Presidential election and talk about his new book "
