Section 12-17,123 - Same; application for designation as downtown redevelopment area; approval or denial by secretary of commerce, criteria(a) The governing body of a city or of an unincorporated area of a county proposing to establish a downtown redevelopment area shall make a written application to the secretary of the department of commerce for the designation of a downtown redevelopment area. Applications shall be made in a format approved by the secretary.(b) After a review of the application and after an examination of the facts alleged, the secretary may approve the application based upon one or more of the following criteria: (1) The city or unincorporated area of a county in which the redevelopment area is proposed has a population of less than 50,000 or the proposed redevelopment area qualifies as a distressed community;(2) the proposed redevelopment area is located in a well-defined, core commercial district of the city or the unincorporated area of the county;(3) if the structures located within the proposed redevelopment area have a vacancy rate that exceeds 15%; or(4) the average appraised valuation of the properties located within the proposed redevelopment area has not increased by more than 15% in the past 10 years.(c) In the event the secretary denies an application to designate a downtown redevelopment area, the secretary shall, within 90 days of the denial, issue a written statement of the controlling facts relied upon to the governing body of the city or of the unincorporated area of the county that requested the designation. L. 2004, ch. 112, § 83; July 1.