Redevelopment Outreach to Property Owners

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions; names and numbers may be misheard.

What: a discussion on who at the city is responsible for reaching out to owners of vacant or declining commercial sites about redevelopment and the incentives available (GO bond funds, TIF).
Where it stands: raised by Councilmember Cooper on 2026-10-13 (consent docket item 9BA). No vote; staff said it is a shared effort limited by resources.
Next: Cooper asked for an accountability and reporting process, and later asked staff for a report on a Strong Towns article about retail tax and property tax.

Cooper cited research favoring mixed-use development and said he had identified 6 to 12 sites in Ward 2. He found owners hard to reach (layered LLCs) and asked whose job outreach is and who reports back to council.
Craig Freeman said planning and the economic development staff work with developers who bring concepts, and private owners decide how to develop their land.
Kenny Sudel said the Alliance for Economic Development is the "tip of the spear" but is a 13-person office managing about 130 active projects, so proactivity is a resource issue. He listed priorities: TIF districts, GO bond projects, the urban renewal authority, industrial and employment sites near Tinker, and support for MAPS projects.
Councilmember Stonecipher backed being more proactive and asked for a budget proposal for outreach.
Other councilmembers raised permit streamlining and community engagement as no-cost levers.

About 25 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting	Minutes
2026-10-13 - City Council	25

2026-10-13 - City Council - Item 9BA: Cooper pressed staff on who does outreach to property owners; Kenny Sudel cited limited staff; Stonecipher asked for an outreach budget. No vote.