§ 62-885. Procedures for establishing housing reinvestment district - Adoption of ordinance or resolution - Initiative and referendum.

A.  The governing body of a municipality or county may establish a housing reinvestment district as follows:

1.  A housing reinvestment district may only be created in a municipality or county with a population of less than three hundred thousand (300,000) persons and in which the percentage change in population, according to the most recent federal decennial census or the most recent population estimate provided by the United States Bureau of the Census, compared with the previous federal decennial census, is less than the national average percentage change in population; provided, a municipality or county which does not meet such requirement may create a housing reinvestment district in a specific geographic area thereof which meets the definition of an “opportunity zone” as such term is defined in paragraph 2 of subsection G of Section 3604 of Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes;

2.  The governing body shall designate and adopt the proposed boundaries of any such district.  Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the boundaries of any district created by a municipality shall be confined to that territory within the corporate limits of the municipality and any district created by a county shall be confined to that territory within the unincorporated areas of the county.  Any municipality or county may by written agreement jointly create a contiguous district with one or more other municipalities or counties;

3.  The governing body shall obtain the written consent of each taxing entity levying ad valorem taxes upon property located in the proposed boundaries of the district to grant tax abatements as provided in Section 6 of this act.  If such written consent is not obtained from each taxing entity, the district shall not be created.  The governing body shall further enter into a contractual arrangement with the governing bodies of all other affected taxing entities to provide relief from ad valorem taxes as provided in Section 6 of this act;

4.  Upon the adoption and approval of the proposed boundaries of the district, the governing body shall, after public notice and hearing, adopt an ordinance or resolution, whichever is applicable, which:

a.              describes the boundaries of the district sufficiently definite to identify with ordinary and reasonable certainty the territory included in it,

b.              creates the district as of a specified date,

c.              assigns a name to the district for identification purposes, and

d.              contains findings that:

(1)              the municipality or county or portion thereof in which the proposed district is located meets the requirements of paragraph 1 of this subsection, and

(2)              the improvement to housing in the area of the district caused by the granting of tax abatements pursuant to the provisions of this act is likely to enhance the value of other real property in the municipality or county and to promote the general public interest.

B.  The powers of initiative and referendum, reserved by the Oklahoma Constitution to the people, are reserved to the people of every municipality or county with reference to the tax relief or incentives or exemptions or increment captured as authorized by Section 6C of Article X of the Oklahoma Constitution and as provided for in this act.  A housing reinvestment district may be created through an initiative or referendum petition pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 868 of Title 62 of the Oklahoma Statutes.  A housing reinvestment district may also be terminated, whether created pursuant to the provisions of subsection A of this section or through an initiative or referendum petition, through an initiative or referendum petition pursuant to such procedures.

Added by Laws 2002, c. 344 , § 5, eff. Jan. 1, 2003.