In addition to any other powers conferred by law, a county commission or governing body of a Class I, Class II or Class III municipality may exercise any powers necessary and convenient to carry out the purpose of this article, including the power to:

Terms Used In West Virginia Code 7-11B-4

  • Commissioner of Highways: means the Commissioner of the Division of Highways. See West Virginia Code 7-11B-3
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • County commission: means the governing body of a county of this state and, for purposes of this article only, includes the governing body of a Class I, Class II or Class III municipality in this state. See West Virginia Code 7-11B-3
  • Development or redevelopment district: means an area proposed by one or more agencies as a development or redevelopment district which may include one or more counties, one or more municipalities or any combination thereof, that has been approved by the county commission of each county in which the project area is located if the project is located outside the corporate limits of a municipality, or by the governing body of a municipality if the project area is located within a municipality, or by both the county commission and the governing body of the municipality when the development or redevelopment district is located both within and without a municipality. See West Virginia Code 7-11B-3
  • Governing body of a municipality: means the city council of a Class I, Class II or Class III municipality in this state. See West Virginia Code 7-11B-3
  • including: when used in a definition contained in this article, shall not exclude other things otherwise within the meaning of the term being defined. See West Virginia Code 7-11B-3
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Project: means any capital improvement, facility or both, as specifically set forth and defined in the project plan, requiring an investment of capital including, but not limited to, extensions, additions or improvements to existing facilities, including water or wastewater facilities, and the remediation of contaminated property as provided for in §. See West Virginia Code 7-11B-3
  • Project area: means an area within the boundaries of a development or redevelopment district in which a development or redevelopment project is undertaken as specifically set forth and defined in the project plan. See West Virginia Code 7-11B-3
  • Project costs: include , but are not limited to:

    (A) Capital costs, including, but not limited to, the actual costs of the construction of public works or improvements, capital improvements and facilities, new buildings, structures and fixtures, the demolition, alteration, remodeling, repair or reconstruction of existing buildings, structures and fixtures, environmental remediation, parking and landscaping, the acquisition of equipment and site clearing, grading and preparation. See West Virginia Code 7-11B-3

  • Project plan: means the plan for a development or redevelopment project that is adopted by a county commission or governing body of a municipality in conformity with the requirements of this article and this chapter or §. See West Virginia Code 7-11B-3
  • redevelopment project: means a project undertaken in a development or redevelopment district for eliminating or preventing the development or spread of slums or deteriorated, deteriorating or blighted areas, for discouraging the loss of commerce, industry or employment, for increasing employment or for any combination thereof in accordance with a tax increment financing plan. See West Virginia Code 7-11B-3
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
  • Tax increment: means the amount of regular levy property taxes attributable to the amount by which the current assessed value of real and tangible personal property having a tax situs in a development or redevelopment district exceeds the base assessed value of the property. See West Virginia Code 7-11B-3
  • Tax increment financing fund: means a separate fund for a development or redevelopment district established by the county commission or governing body of the municipality into which all tax increment revenues and other pledged revenues are deposited and from which projected project costs, debt service and other expenditures authorized by this article are paid. See West Virginia Code 7-11B-3
  • tax increment financing obligations: means bonds, loans, debentures, notes, special certificates or other evidences of indebtedness issued by a county commission or municipality pursuant to this article to carry out a development or redevelopment project or to refund outstanding obligations under this article. See West Virginia Code 7-11B-3
  • This code: means the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended by the Legislature. See West Virginia Code 7-11B-3

(1) Create development and redevelopment areas or districts and to define the boundaries of those areas or districts;

(2) Cause project plans to be prepared, to approve the project plans, and to implement the provisions and effectuate the purposes of the project plans;

(3) Establish tax increment financing funds for each development or redevelopment district;

(4) Issue tax increment financing obligations and pledge tax increments and other revenues for repayment of the obligations;

(5) Deposit moneys into the tax increment financing fund for any development or redevelopment district;

(6) Enter into any contracts or agreements, including, but not limited to, agreements with project developers, consultants, professionals, financing institutions, trustees and bondholders determined by the county commission to be necessary or convenient to implement the provisions and effectuate the purposes of project plans;

(7) Receive from the federal government or the state loans and grants for, or in aid of, a development or redevelopment project and to receive contributions from any other source to defray project costs;

(8) Exercise the right of eminent domain to condemn property for the purposes of implementing the project plan. The rules and procedures set forth in § 54-1-1 et seq. of this code shall govern all condemnation proceedings authorized in this article;

(9) Make relocation payments to those persons, businesses, or organizations that are displaced as a result of carrying out the development or redevelopment project;

(10) Clear and improve property acquired by the county commission pursuant to the project plan and construct public facilities on it or contract for the construction, development, redevelopment, rehabilitation, remodeling, alteration or repair of the property;

(11) Cause parks, playgrounds or water, sewer or drainage facilities or any other public improvements, including, but not limited to, fire stations, community centers and other public buildings, which the county commission is otherwise authorized to undertake to be laid out, constructed or furnished in connection with the development or redevelopment project. When the public improvement of the county commission is to be located, in whole or in part, within the corporate limits of a municipality, the county commission shall consult with the mayor and the governing body of the municipality regarding the public improvement and shall pay for the cost of the public improvement from the tax increment financing fund;

(12) Lay out and construct, alter, relocate, change the grade of, make specific repairs upon or discontinue public ways and construct sidewalks in, or adjacent to, the project area: Provided, That when the public way or sidewalk is located within a municipality, the governing body of the municipality shall consent to the same and if the public way is a state road, the consent of the commissioner of highways shall be necessary;

(13) Cause private ways, sidewalks, ways for vehicular travel, playgrounds or water, sewer or drainage facilities and similar improvements to be constructed within the project area for the particular use of the development or redevelopment district or those dwelling or working in it;

(14) Construct, or cause to be constructed, any capital improvements of a public nature;

(15) Construct capital improvements to be leased or sold to private entities in connection with the goals of the development or redevelopment project;

(16) Cause capital improvements owned by one or more private entities to be constructed within the development or redevelopment district;

(17) Designate one or more official or employee of the county commission to make decisions and handle the affairs of development and redevelopment project areas or districts created by the county commission pursuant to this article;

(18) Adopt orders, ordinances or bylaws or repeal or modify such ordinances or bylaws or establish exceptions to existing ordinances and bylaws regulating the design, construction and use of buildings within the development or redevelopment district created by a county commission or governing body of a municipality under this article;

(19) Enter orders, adopt bylaws or repeal or modify such orders or bylaws or establish exceptions to existing orders and bylaws regulating the design, construction and use of buildings within the development or redevelopment district created by a county commission or governing body of a municipality under this article;

(20) Sell, mortgage, lease, transfer or dispose of any property or interest therein, by contract or auction, acquired by it pursuant to the project plan for development, redevelopment or rehabilitation in accordance with the project plan;

(21) Expend project revenues as provided in this article;

(22) Enter into one or more intergovernmental agreements or memorandums of understanding with the Commissioner of Highways or with other county commissions or municipalities regarding development or redevelopment districts;

(23) Designate one or more officials or employees of the county commission or municipality that created the development or redevelopment district to sign documents, to make decisions and handle the affairs of the development or redevelopment district. When two or more county commissions, or municipalities, or any combination thereof, established the development or redevelopment district, the government entities shall enter into one or more intergovernmental agreements regarding administration of the development or redevelopment district and the handling of its affairs; and

(24) Do all things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers granted in this article.