Title
Changes to Composition of Community Redevelopment Agency Board (B)
Explanation
At the August 2017 Community Redevelopment Agency Board meeting, the Chairman asked if the composition of the current CRA Board, consisting of the seven City Commissioners, could be reconstructed to include some Alachua County Commissioners. The Florida Attorney General, Pam Bondi, has previously answered the question in the negative in response to the City of Lauderdale Lakes, Attorney General Opinion 2015-05 (2015).
The Community Redevelopment Act, Part III, Chapter 163, Florida Statutes, authorizes local governments to create a community redevelopment area and authorizes the local government to exercise the powers set out in the act for the purpose of eliminating slum and blight within the community redevelopment area. The act sets forth the procedure for establishing the community redevelopment area and then creating the community redevelopment agency. There are two distinct statutory sections that a local government may use in creating the community redevelopment agency. Each of these statutes has distinctive requirements as to the number of board members, the composition of the board, and the timing of the creation of the board.
Number of Members
Section 163.356, Florida Statutes, allows the local government to create an agency with no fewer than five and no greater than nine members. Section 163.357(1), provides that “as an alternative to appointing no fewer than five or more than seven members” the governing body may appoint itself as the community redevelopment agency. If the governing body has five members, it may add two additional members, Section 163.357(3)(c), Florida Statutes.
Composition of the Board
Section 163.356(2), Florida Statutes provides that the governing body creating the agency may enter into an interlocal agreement with taxing authorities to include one or more members of the taxing authority’s governing body. Additionally, 163...
Click here for full text