The proposed Greater Belhaven Community Improvement District will be on the ballot during a special election on April 5.
All voters in the district are eligible to vote in the special election. The polling locations will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
Sixty percent of the voters in the election must approve the district.
The Greater Belhaven Community Improvement District would take in properties from Riverside Drive to High Street and from I-55 to North State Street. It would also include residences at 2-10 Park Ave. and 1501 N. State St. and 1543 N. State St.
The improvement district is expected to generate $200,000 annually, which could be used to pay for landscaping, parks, infrastructure, security enhancement and as matching funds for grants for larger projects. Funds generated from the district would not be available for use until 2023.
Legislation requires that a community improvement district plan and funds be managed by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit like the Greater Belhaven Foundation.
The funds for the improvement district, a maximum of $6 per every $1,000 of assessed value of a parcel, will be collected with property taxes yearly by the city of Jackson and disbursed to the Greater Belhaven Foundation. A district’s proceeds must be maintained separately from the foundation’s other funds, with strict accounting, audit, and public disclosure guidelines.
The foundation began collecting signatures for the district in October 2019 and continued during the coronavirus pandemic.
Community Improvement Districts are said to enhance urban and suburban areas by improving safety, reducing blight and increasing property values and job opportunities at local businesses.
The Greater Belhaven Foundation, established in 1999, works to improve and revitalize Belhaven and Belhaven Heights through long-range planning, economic restructuring, historic preservation, green space enhancement and improvement of Fortification Street, the major east-west corridor between the two neighborhoods.
Greater Belhaven is comprised of more than 1,700 single family and multifamily homes as well as numerous businesses.
