Troupe: With Local Control, Bill OK

St. Louis Alderman Charles Quincy Troupe, a longtime critic of the city’s Land Reutilization Authority’s land-banking policy, testified today in Jefferson City that the proposed Land Assemblage Tax Credit would be good for north St. Louis — but only if it was amended to require any redevelopment plan eligible for the credit to first be approved by the Board of Aldermen.

Troupe said St. Louis has suffered over the years from “corrupt and backwards and sometimes outright stupid” policies. He pointed to the twenty-year-old LRA policy of acquiring thousands of properties, mostly in north St. Louis, and routinely denying independent rehabbers a chance to purchase one or two properties at a time.

Troupe, who has blamed the LRA for much of the blight on the northside, said this policy has left many neighborhoods devastated and vulnerable to red-lining and declining property values.

With the protection of local control, Troupe said he supports this tax credit bill and sees it as promising for much needed investment.

Following Troupe’s testimony, State Rep. Rodney Hubbard* offered an amendment, which was approved by the committee, to require any redevelopment plan to be approved by the the Board of Aldermen.

*Hubbard is a client of A.D. French & Associates