AP To Resume CRA Activity

The city plans to resume all Community Redevelopment Agency activity after a state official answered questions and reassured staff and council about its CRA procedures.

The city's CRA board, which is comprised of the council members, had suspended CRA business last month due to questions about whether budget changes required public hearings.

Martin County Community Development Director and a past president of the Florida Redevelopment Agency, Jeff Oris answered questions Monday from city staff, council members and CRA advisory committee members.

"You are not going through a public hearing process when you adopt your budget; that's done in an open public meeting as part of an agenda usually, but it's not a hearing on the budget," he said.

If the CRA decides it doesn't want to do a streetscaping project, but it wants to purchase a piece of property instead, as long as it is in the CRA plan, the CRA funds can be moved from one project to another, he said. This does not require a modification of the plan nor a big public hearing on the budget.

Oris said the process to change a CRA plan includes: the CRA board initiating the plan change, then a review by the planning and zoning board, followed by the city council's approval.

He repeatedly recommended having a broad plan with general objectives so it does not have to be changed or amended frequently.

Referring to the city's overall concerns about its CRA activity during the past few years Oris said, "It's the past, get over it and move on."

Oris said the city is correct in having three CRA advisory boards and one CRA board, which makes the final decisions.

The city's CRA board will meet Feb. 9 to officially vote on resuming CRA business.