The state Legislature created the legal framework for designating entertainment districts in 2010.
By Steve Ayers
The Camp Verde Bugle
Several years back, 2005 to be exact, a Camp Verde mayor and some Town Council members attempted to designate much of the downtown area as a redevelopment district.
Under laws in place at the time, the far-reaching ordinance that would have declared most of the area blight and even allowed for the eviction of people from their homes, all in the name of rebuilding the area in the image of whoever had enough money to do it.
Needless to say, once the idea found the light of day the ordinance itself was evicted.
Roll ahead seven years and the idea of building the town’s economic future around a revitalized downtown is still alive. Only this time the tool being considered is considerably friendlier and affects only commercially zoned property.
This week, the Town of Camp Verde sent letters to 200 downtown property owners, churches and schools, notifying them of its intention to create an “entertainment district” along the Main Street corridor.
