When its time

 Next Steps Summary for RHID District Creation

After submitting a complete District Pre-Application (including cover letter, legal description/map, site control evidence, certifications of no delinquencies, and $5,000 non-refundable fee):

1. City Manager Review: Within 30 days, the City Manager directs preparation of a resolution for the Topeka Governing Body.
2. Governing Body Consideration: The resolution is presented at a regular meeting no later than 60 days after receipt. It includes the legal description/map and required findings per K.S.A. 12-5244(a)(1)-(4).
3. If Adopted: The City Manager publishes the resolution as per K.S.A. 12-5244(b) and requests approval from the Kansas Secretary of Commerce per K.S.A. 12-5244(c).

• Timeline: The overall process can take up to 60 days.

K.S.A. 12-5244 is the Kansas statute that governs the creation of Reinvestment Housing Incentive Districts (RHID). It authorizes cities or counties to designate these districts and outlines the required process, including a key step where the governing body must adopt a resolution with specific findings.Before designating an RHID, the governing body must conduct a housing needs analysis to identify housing shortages in the community. Then, it adopts a resolution that includes:

• A legal description of the proposed district,
• A map of the existing parcels,
• And a statement of the following four required findings (from subsection (a)(1) through (a)(4)):

1. There is a shortage of quality housing of various price ranges in the city or county, despite the best efforts of public and private housing developers.
2. The shortage of quality housing can be expected to persist, and additional financial incentives are necessary to encourage the private sector to construct or renovate housing in the city or county.
3. The shortage of quality housing is a substantial deterrent to the future economic growth and development of the city or county.
4. The future economic well-being of the city or county depends on the governing body providing additional incentives for the construction or renovation of quality housing.

These findings establish the justification (often called the "but-for" rationale) for why the incentives are needed—essentially proving that the housing development wouldn't happen without the RHID tax increment financing mechanism.After adopting and publishing the resolution (at least once in the official newspaper), the governing body sends a certified copy to the Kansas Secretary of Commerce for review. The Secretary must agree in writing with each of these findings for the district to proceed. If approved, the city/county can move forward to establish the district and adopt a development plan (under related sections like K.S.A. 12-5245).This structure ensures RHID incentives are targeted at genuine housing needs tied to economic benefits, rather than being applied broadly. In the Topeka RHID packet you referenced earlier, the resolution must include these exact findings per K.S.A. 12-5244(a)(1) through (a)(4).