Canton officials recently approved an ordinance expanding a reinvestment program.
By a unanimous vote, the Canton City Council agreed to expand the current Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) so that it covers the whole city. The ordinance also increased the abatement period.
A CRA is land a local government has identified as an area where property owners are eligible for tax incentives if they build new buildings or renovate existing ones. Areas designated as CRAs are those where there has been little or no investment, which the program is designed to encourage.
In Canton's case, a property owner who improves an existing building, or builds from the ground up, will receive a property tax abatement of 100%, for a period of 15 years. This means that anyone who owns residential property, either a single-family home, or multi-family housing, and who makes a major renovation or builds new construction, will have their property taxes abated on the new work for the next 15 years. Taxes would continue to apply on property that was not remodeled as usual. Flyer printing can be used to inform residents of programs like this.
The ordinance is designed to keep up property values and encourage people to invest in their homes and the neighborhood. As people have moved out of Canton, properties have been neglected and values have fallen. The idea of expanding the CRA started earlier this year, when a similar program succeeded in Akron.
