Louisiana § RS 25:1271.3 - Magnolia Street Program

§ RS 25:1271.3. Magnolia Street Program

A.  Establishment; administration. The Magnolia Street Program is hereby established within the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism which shall assist municipalities in preparing and implementing a revitalization strategy for residential neighborhoods through the establishment of residential neighborhood enhancement program districts and grants to provide for planning and improvements in such districts.  The residential neighborhoods must be in close proximity to either a Louisiana Main Street Program project or an existing commercial district.  The department shall administer the program in conjunction with the Louisiana Main Street Program.  For this purpose, the total number of authorized positions for the department may be increased by not more than one position.

B.  Applications.  The department shall prepare application forms for the grant program established in this Chapter and award grants to municipalities and other eligible entities based on the requirements provided in Subsection D of this Section.  The department shall require that a map be furnished with all applications clearly identifying the residential neighborhood district.

C.  Program requirements.  The program shall:

(1) Provide residential reinvestment grants for infrastructure and structural improvements, including, but not limited ,to streets, street lights, trees, exteriors of buildings and sidewalks or other pedestrian-oriented features.

(2)  Provide planning and development grants for:

(a)  Salaries of local program managers, which may be either full-time or part-time.

(b)  Marketing and promoting urban residential living.

(c)  Leveraging additional private and public investment.

(d)  Promoting home ownership and other housing options.

(e)  Addressing social and economic concerns including, but not limited to, crime, blight, employment opportunities, and public services and amenities.

(f)  Achieving consistency, whenever appropriate, with existing commercial and residential revitalization efforts.

(3)  Provide an assessment of applying a municipality's need for the following:

(a)  A review of local comprehensive plans and zoning and other land use ordinances to foster the viability of established residential neighborhoods, with a balanced mix of commercial, civic, employment and residential uses, with particular attention to a diversity of housing options.

(b)  A review of educational and recreational opportunities and facilities.

D.  Eligibility.  For participation in the program, municipalities or their designated eligible entities must meet the following criteria:

(1)  Have an established residential neighborhood in need of revitalization in close proximity to an existing commercial district.

(2)  Provide evidence of support by local residents, merchants, and government officials in the form of written documentation.

(3)  Commit to provide a minimum of a thirty percent match for any department grants.  The match must consist of financial or in-kind support from other public or private sources based upon departmental guidelines.  The department may waive or reduce the matching requirement if it determines such requirement would constitute a hardship upon the municipality or the agency designated by the municipality.  A hardship exists if the municipality meets one of the following criteria:

(a)  The municipality is declared as financially distressed.

(b)  The matching requirements for the application would exceed five percent of the municipality's annual operating budget.

(c)  Part or all of the established residential neighborhood identified in the application is participating in a crime prevention program in conjunction with the local law enforcement agency.

E.  Multiple projects.  The department may approve more than one project within the boundaries of a municipality.  Multiple projects may occur simultaneously or at different periods of time.

F.  Cooperative projects.  The department may consider applications submitted by two or more municipalities as a single application for a single project area.

G.  Priority projects.  The department shall give priority to projects with an established residential neighborhood that was already in existence prior to 1961.

H.  Limits.  The department shall establish limits on the amount of money available per project area so as to distribute the available funds as fairly as possible throughout the state of Louisiana.

I.  Prohibitions.  No funds from this program shall be expended to develop or convert farmland to residential, commercial or industrial uses.  Farmland is any land that supports, or land with a recent history of supporting, the commercial production of agricultural crops, livestock or livestock products, poultry products, milk or dairy products, fruit, or other horticultural products.

Acts 2008, No. 431, §1, eff. when funds are appropriated by the legislature.

NOTE:  See Acts 2008, No. 431, §3, regarding termination.