The City of Great Bend and the Barton County Commission recently adopted a Neighborhood Revitalization Plan (NRP) that intends to promote the revitalization and development of Barton County. This plan provides property owners with a tax rebate incentive for certain new construction or rehabilitation projects on their residential, commercial or agriculture properties throughout the County.
This program is not new to the City of Great Bend. We currently have a Neighborhood Revitalization Program in place that is set to expire on December 31, 2021. However, anyone who has participated in the program in the past will notice a few differences. As with the current plan, the new plan will still have the City of Great Bend split into two target areas. Most of the properties East of Washington Street will fall into Target Area 1 and may qualify for a 10 year rebate while most of the properties West of Washington Street will fall into Target Area 2 and may qualify for a 5 year rebate. The primary changes that will be noticed fall into the administration and application process. Under the new program property owners need to make sure to note the following factors:
- Property owners and their contractors are still REQUIRED to pull permits for their construction projects. No Neighborhood Revitalization will be issued unless all of the appropriate permits are issued prior to work beginning.
- Part One of the Neighborhood Revitalization Application must be obtained and filed with the Barton County Appraiser’s Office PRIOR to commencement of the project.
- Once Part Two is returned to the Barton County Appraiser’s Office the project will NOT be deemed complete and property values reassessed unless all required inspections have been completed during the construction process.
The City of Great Bend will continue to issue permits and complete inspections throughout the process as we currently do. The major change is that instead of the City of Great Bend issuing the Neighborhood Revitalization Application when a permit is issued, property owners will now be responsible for obtaining the application from the Barton County Appraiser’s Office. All applications parts will now be returned directly to the Barton County Appraiser’s Office as well instead of funneling through the City of Great Bend first.
Another major change to the new program relates to the unincorporated areas of Barton County. These areas of the County may be eligible for a 10 year rebate. The City of Great Bend currently issues permits verifying zoning regulations for projects within the 3-mile Extraterritorial Area that add new square footage ONLY. We WILL continue to issue these new square footage zoning permits. Property owners for these types of construction will be responsible for making contact with the Barton County Appraiser’s Office PRIOR to commencing work to obtain and file their application. The City of Great Bend does not issue permits for repairs, remodels, plumbing, electrical or mechanical outside the City of Great Bend. Property owners within the 3-mile Extraterritorial Area of the City of Great Bend looking at completing rehabilitation projects on their properties should call the City of Great Bend Building Inspector’s office for more information related to their project and the Neighborhood Revitalization Program.
Now that both the City of Great Bend and Barton County Commission have approved the new plan it will go to the Kansas Attorney General’s Office for review and approval. The proposed plan will go into effect January 1, 2022.
Questions regarding the new plan may be addressed to the Barton County Appraiser’s Office at (620) 793-1821 or City of Great Bend Building Inspections at (620) 793-4106.