Batavia TIF district plan moves closer to vote

Nobody from the public spoke Tuesday night at a public hearing concerning a proposal to create tax increment financing district for a west side Batavia neighborhood.

The public hearing was one of the last steps in the process. The city council will discuss whether to proceed with the West Town TIF at its Nov. 10 committee of the whole meeting.

The TIF district is about 27 acres, roughly bounded by Wilson Street, Van Nortwick Avenue, Walnut Street and Harrison Street.

It would be designated a "conservation" district, with property taxes going to preventing further decline in property values. That could be through repairs to existing properties, improvements in infrastructure such as sewers and streets, or through new buildings. The plan estimates the area could use about $20.9 million worth of work.

The idea is that property tax payments to various taxing districts would be frozen for 23 years. Any increases in property taxes attributable to an increase in property value - the "increment" in "tax increment financing" - would be put in a special fund to pay for the improvements that led to the increase in property value. Since the proposed district was introduced in spring 2014, several things have been changed in its redevelopment plan. A designation of multifamily housing on the site of the former MasterCast foundry at First Street and Mallory Avenue was changed to "neighborhood commercial," with stores and shops at ground level and housing above.

The suggested density for housing on the former Shady Hill Greenhouse property on Walnut Street was also reduced.

The area currently is a mix of industrial buildings, houses, duplexes and several shops. The idea is to reduce the industrial uses.

The city's consultants, Teska and Associates, estimate that if everything were built to the maximum suggested in the redevelopment plan, 241 residences could be added to the area.