Does a CDC have to post public notices

Visitor Question: In the last year or so, a so-called CDC, a community development corporation, has been formed to work in and near the neighborhood where I live. It is a little shady that we do not know exactly who these people are, and what they intend to do. We see a couple of them having visibility and serving as spokespeople, but they only give vague answers when I ask them a question, if I can even get in touch with them.

Over the weekend my next-door neighbor said the CDC planned to buy a whole block of property at the outside edge of our community. This block has only two occupied houses on it, and there are two more that are vacant but in decent enough shape that someone could live in them. Another one needs to be torn down before it falls down.

The person I see occasionally that is part of the CDC was extra secretive when I asked him if it was true that they wanted to buy an entire block and exactly what their plans were for that block.

This reminds me of a question in the back of my mind ever since I heard about this CDC thing. Is the CDC required to send public notices to any of us when they take an action that will impact us? The city government has to send a notice when someone wants to change the zoning or propose a development. Do those same rules apply to a CDC?

Editors Reply: A CDC would not be required by law to post notices on a property or mail notices to nearby property owners when a development action is contemplated. Of course, if a rezoning or a city development approval, such as approving a site plan or granting a conditional use permit, is required, the city then would be the one posting and sending notices, according to the process set out in the zoning ordinance or possibly other ordinances such as a standalone site plan ordinance.

This would be the case anywhere that I'm aware of. I can imagine that some city somewhere might require CDCs to post notices or mail notices in certain situations, especially if the CDC is receiving city funding. In yet other places, no doubt a city government liaison to a CDC is recommending that they take such an action, but that would be a non-binding suggestion.

So it is highly likely that the CDC is not required to give any kind of notice other than that which would be required of any property owner. In other words, they can buy and sell property to their hearts' content without having to explain to anyone why they are doing it. You can ask, but the CDC board is not obligated to say. Indeed, under the theory of not wanting to bid against themselves when they are buying up contiguous properties, they are likely to be extraordinarily quiet about such things.

Further, if what they plan to do with the properties they are buying is allowed already "as of right," they can go ahead and apply for and receive building permits without any notice to anyone.

For example, if they buy lots zoned for single-family residential, and they simply plan to construct new single-family homes on the lots, this would not require notice. You might think it should because living across from five single-family construction sites is obviously a different proposition from living across the street from five vacant lots. But there is no law or custom requiring this.

Now let's imagine that they are buying up a whole block that now is zoned for single-family residential, and they plan to demolish the remaining structures and then construct a few four-plex buildings that are not allowed in the current single-family residential district. That will require rezoning, and a CDC has to go through that process in the same way that any other property owner seeking a rezoning must jump through the hoops and ultimately win a vote of the city's governing body (the city council or whatever you might call it). In that case, you and other neighbors who live within a radius specified by the zoning ordinance will receive a written notice of public hearings on the matter.

Both law and custom vary across the country as to how much information the applicant for a rezoning must divulge about their exact plans. They might be able to be vague and thus keep their options open, even in that event. If there is a rezoning, a notice is posted somewhere on the property, so that if you live outside the radius specified in the zoning ordinance, you still might see the sign if you travel that way frequently.

Then let's add a third layer to the discussion. Let's say that a development of more than four housing units must go through a formal site plan approval process, which requires a public hearing process much like that required for a rezoning. The building official sees that the CDC has plans for more than four housing units, so he flags that application for the site plan approval process.

If there is a requirement for notifying neighbors of a site plan application, as usually there will be, then you not only would know when and where you could make input, but you also would have every right to request a copy of the application, which would show you in diagram fashion exactly what is proposed. If the drawings are large and there are a significant number of them, you may need to go to the city offices during office hours to view the plans, but it will be your right to see them.

In sum, the CDC does not have to give any notice when it assembles land in the neighborhood, or when it proposes to construct buildings that are permitted under the existing zoning and not subject to site plan approval or some environmental requirement that requires disclosure. However, after several properties are acquired, the CDC may well want to do something with the land that will require some degree of notice and disclosure.

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