LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A new proposed tax district has many residents in west Louisville concerned they will no longer be able to afford to live in their own homes.

Dressed in red and holding signs, doubling down on their chants of "stop the TIF," a group of residents protested Monday against their homes becoming part of a tax incremental financing (TIF) district.

"It's welfare for powerful developers," said Martina Kunneck, with the Historically Black Neighborhood Assembly.

The assembly is calling for Metro government and Metro Council to reject the TIF proposal, citing concerns about gentrification

A TIF invests tax revenue back into the area it encompasses. In the case of west Louisville, the TIF represents nine neighborhoods: Parkland, Shawnee, Park Duvalle, Russell, Portland, California, Chickasaw, Park Hill and Algonquin.

The beginnings of the plan were created under House Bill 321, passed in 2021. In the final hours of the General Assembly, Kentucky legislators voted to create a tax increment financing district for those neighborhoods, taking the first step toward giving the partnership control over spending city and state tax dollars from a roughly 12.5-square-mile area.

The plans are managed by the West End Opportunity Partnership, which met Monday night. The partnership is a group of people representing major Louisville organizations and a representative from each of the nine neighborhoods.

"What we do know is there is a potential for this entity — you — becoming significant players," Sen. Gerald Neal, D-33, said.

But a major concern for residents is what the district will mean for renters, who make up about 60% of west Louisville's population, according to the Metro Housing Coalition.

"As time goes on, taxes are going to rise, and then property values are going to rise, and folks who are renting from individuals who have to pay those costs are naturally going to face increased rent, rental cars or be forced to move," Kunnecke said.

Those concerns are the reason the Metro Housing Coalition made it a point during Monday's meeting that the partnership needs to ensure extra support for people renting in the TIF district.

"If it is done well and done with the interested protection of the residents at heart, it'll be great," said Tony Curtis, executive director for the Metro Housing Coalition. "If not, it is just another TIF experiment. So let's not fall into that trap."

The West End Opportunity Partnership is still seeking a representative from the Park Hill neighborhood and is working to become an established nonprofit.

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