(1) The General Assembly finds and declares the following:
(a) The development area, the west end of Louisville, which includes the communities of Parkland, Shawnee, Park Duvalle, Russell, Portland, California, Chickasaw, including an adjacent unincorporated community, Park Hill, and Algonquin, including an adjacent unincorporated community, has been the home of many prominent African-Americans, including being the boyhood home of Muhammad Ali;
(b) The development area possesses a rich history of African-American life, including thriving restaurants, theatres, and other minority-owned businesses. That history also includes the presence of the Western Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library, at 10th St. and Chestnut, America’s first public library open to African-Americans, which opened in 1908;
(c) The development area continues to be the home of thousands of African- Americans who live and work in the Commonwealth and desire to build a better future for themselves, their families, and the generations that follow;
(d) The current challenging economic times combined with the intergenerational effects of years of racial prejudice and segregation have hindered the economic progress of African-Americans;
(e) The development area currently has a low percentage of owner-occupied homes, problems with vacant and abandoned housing, and a dearth of strategic economic planning and investment;
(f) Fifty percent (50%) of households within the development area have an annual gross income of less than twenty-five thousand one hundred thirty dollars ($25,130), and individuals under the age of eighteen (18) or over the age of sixty-five (65) make up approximately thirty-eight and one-tenth percent (38.1%) of the population;
(g) In the development area, thirty-nine and six-tenths percent (39.6%) of the population lives below the federal poverty level and children make up thirty- seven and four-tenths percent (37.4%) of all individuals below the poverty line; and
(h) In addition to many nonprofits working in the development area to improve the quality of life of residents, African-American leaders and other Louisville community leaders and philanthropists have recently united to envision a public-private partnership to make investments promoting economic growth and the long-term well-being of the community, while simultaneously supporting policies to guard against displacement of residents as growth proceeds.
(2) The General Assembly enacts KRS § 65.500 to KRS § 65.506 and 141.398 to:
(a) Support the revitalization of and investment in the development area; and
(b) Provide resources for additional opportunities for residents of the development area, both natural persons and businesses, to work together to improve their educational attainment, working opportunities, and quality of
life, thus returning the West End to the safe, prosperous, and enjoyable community needed, deserved, and expected by the residents, and for the area to become an equal partner in the future of all of Jefferson County.
(3) It is the intent of the General Assembly that if any part of KRS § 65.500 to KRS § 65.506 or
141.398 is held unconstitutional, the remaining parts shall remain in force.
Effective: June 29, 2021
History: Created 2021 Ky. Acts ch. 203, sec. 1, effective June 29, 2021.