Land Use & ZoningIntermediateColorado Exam

Colorado municipalities may use 'tax increment financing' (TIF) to:

AA. Raise property tax rates directly and immediately on every existing property owner within a specific designated area of the municipality, regardless of any new development or improvement activity taking place there

BB. Fund urban renewal and redevelopment by capturing future increases in property tax revenue generated by improvements in a designated redevelopment area to repay bonds issued for the improvementsCorrect

CC. Reduce taxes for new businesses

DD. Fund school construction statewide

Why B. Fund urban renewal and redevelopment by capturing future increases in property tax revenue generated by improvements in a designated redevelopment area to repay bonds issued for the improvements Is Correct

Answer B: B. Fund urban renewal and redevelopment by capturing future increases in property tax revenue generated by improvements in a designated redevelopment area to repay bonds issued for the improvements

Tax increment financing (TIF) is a redevelopment tool: a redevelopment area is designated, and the existing property tax 'base' is frozen. As improvements occur and property values rise, the incremental increase in tax revenue (above the frozen base) is used to repay bonds that funded the redevelopment infrastructure.

People Also Study

Key Terms to Know

Zoning

Local government regulations that control land use by dividing areas into zones specifying permitted uses, building sizes, and densities.

Variance

Official permission to use land in a way that does not conform to the applicable zoning ordinance, granted by a zoning board when strict enforcement would cause undue hardship.

Eminent Domain

The power of government to take private property for public use, with the requirement to pay the owner just compensation.

Adverse Possession

A doctrine by which a person can gain legal title to another's land by openly, continuously, and adversely occupying it for a statutory period.