Community Improvement Districts (CIDs) and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts were created to encourage redevelopment, improve infrastructure and help make projects financially feasible that might not otherwise happen.⁣

That makes sense for aging shopping centers, vacant land or areas in need of revitalization.⁣

But many of Lenexa’s incentive districts are located in busy commercial corridors, established shopping centers, hotels and mixed-use developments that already attract customers every day.⁣

That raises one of the most important questions in economic development: 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐚𝐲?⁣

Economic developers often call this the “but-for” test—would the project have moved forward but for the public incentive?⁣

𝐀𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠:⁣

Was the area already thriving?⁣

Was there competing developer interest?⁣

What financial evidence showed the incentive was necessary?⁣

What public benefit justified the incentive?⁣

When public investment is involved (whether through additional sales taxes or redirected property taxes) residents deserve to understand why an incentive was needed and what the community receives in return.⁣

What do you think? Should development incentives be reserved for projects that truly wouldn’t happen otherwise, or is encouraging new development enough of a public benefit on its own?