[Electronic-lan] Info on "Opportunity Zone" update at today's LAN meeting + proposed recommendations to the City of Lawrence for your consideration

[Eric Kirkendall]

Dear LAN friends,

At the January LAN meeting, we put together an informal "Opportunity Zone
Study Team", which has met twice and done quite a bit of work in the last
month.  We are on today's LAN agenda to provide an update on our work, and
would appreciate your thoughts and if you agree, a discussion and vote on
recommendations to the City of Lawrence.

To give you a heads up on what we will present and raise for discussion:

We documented our work in Opportunity Zones in Lawrence, Kansas: A
Preliminary Summary of Possible Threats and Opportunities
<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.google.com%2Fdocument%2Fd%2F1B6FTcssFT4La-cRiyu1ZK1_YptH7eLW87jRO0PqAzB4%2Fedit%3Fusp%3Dsharing&data=02%7C01%7Celectronic-lan%40lists.ku.edu%7C437169d5fb90424808f508d697510193%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C1%7C636862772379694126&sdata=m9zC16cu6u%2FKmyyLmlKtDxpTmQhz5h20%2BjQnWdCpkLs%3D&reserved=0>
(linked and attached).

As described in more detail in this document, virtually every expert
analysis has concluded that Opportunity Zones pose a significant risk of
gentrification and displacement of residents and businesses.

We believe the Opportunity Zone that encompasses the East Lawrence, Brook
Creek, and Barker neighborhoods poses this risk, particularly in areas are
already being eyed for development, and if the City of Lawrence approaches
development in these neighborhoods in a reactive rather than proactive
fashion, and without involving local residents and businesses.

Our team concluded that:

We would like to see Opportunity Zones used as a tool to maximize community
benefit and minimize negative impacts in neighborhoods by creating
significant permanently affordable housing stock, by softening or
eliminating further economic strain on already existing affordable housing
stock and neighborhood residents, and by creating new economic and
employment opportunities for community members beyond those directly
invested in the development properties within the opportunity zones.

For example, several cities, including Minneapolis, have signaled to the
investment community that they want opportunity zone projects to deliver a
social good, such as affordable housing, and that they do not want
opportunity zone funding to be used for luxury housing or other projects
that displace residents.

To make this happen, we believe the City of Lawrence should implement the
recommendations for cities recommended in the Policylink Recommendations
for Opportunity Zones Leveraging private investment for equitable economic
development
<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.policylink.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2FPolicyLink%2520Recommendations%2520for%2520Opportunity%2520Zones%2520.pdf&data=02%7C01%7Celectronic-lan%40lists.ku.edu%7C437169d5fb90424808f508d697510193%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C1%7C636862772379694126&sdata=BvsKKPQjD3OSpzv9t6PTiQNYHoMoZV%2BZKfkIz1vDSgw%3D&reserved=0>
(linked and attached). Specifically:

*Cities should: *

*1. Engage residents in setting priorities for investment in the zones. *

*2. Design and advance local equity policies that govern investments within
zones . *

*3. Dedicate local dollars to projects in Opportunity Zones which can
deliver equitable growth, development without displacement, and healthy
communities of opportunity. *

*4. Monitor and report outcomes of the Opportunity Zone investments,
according to performance indicators such as: living wage jobs created,
number of dedicated affordable housing units created or preserved (60
percent of area median income or less), and investments in
minority/disadvantaged/women-owned businesses. *

*5. Explore opportunities to capitalize existing Opportunity Funds and / or
establish publicly administered Opportunity Funds*

→ And a question for you - could you support a LAN resolution to request
that the city implement these five recommendations?  Are there any that you
think should *not* be implemented?

I look forward to our discussion tonight.

Thank you!

Eric Kirkendall

kirkendall1 at gmail.com

785-550-3408
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