The City Council will decide whether to begin the process of creating urban renewal districts to help improve infrastructure and encourage development in Sweet Home.
Two study areas were deemed eligible for urban renewal districts in a feasibility study released during a work session on July 14. The first area included primarily the commercial area from Second Avenue to 22nd Avenue, about 117 acres. The second area included land from 22nd Avenue to Clark Mill Road north of Highway 20, about 253 acres, much of it in the Santiam Master Plan, a commercial, residential and recreational proposal. The property inside the plan area is mostly owned by Western States Land Reliance Trust.
The second is more desirable as an urban renewal district, City Manager Craig Martin said. Benefits for the prospective sites in the district have been calculated over a 20-year period. For the downtown area, the city could raise about $1.8 million. In 20 to 25 years, the second area could generate some $20 million.
Urban renewal districts maintain property tax levels for the various taxing districts at the level they are when the urban renewal district is started. As the property gains in value, property tax revenues increase. That revenue is called incremental growth. The urban renewal district receives the incremental growth from properties i
nside its boundaries, and that money is used for projects outlined in a plan set forth when the district is created.
During the life of the urban renewal district, other taxing districts do not receive any of the new revenues derived from incremental growth. Revenues from the district would remain unchanged for the city of Sweet Home, Linn-Benton Community College, School District 55, the Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District, the Sweet Home Cemetery District and Linn County.
An urban renewal district would add to what is known as the Measure Five compression effect, affecting the local option levies that fund Sweet Home Police Department, Sweet Home Public Library and Linn County Sheriff’s Office.
The effect on the Sweet Home Police Department is approximately $14,000 Martin said.
The Police Department has an operating budget of approximately $2 million.
District funds could be used to build streets, parks, police stations, fire stations, sidewalks, curbs, gutters and more types of infrastructure and improvements in the section between 22nd Avenue to Clark Mill Road, if it developed in a similar manner as Salmon Run, the name of the original project proposed for the land, Martin said.
Development in that area would drive value increases downtown, Martin said, offsetting some of the lost incremental growth experienced by the taxing districts.
The area between 22nd Avenue and Clark Mill was always supposed to be complementary to the downtown area, Martin said.
“Council will in all likelihood discuss (the possibility of forming a district) further at some point in the future,” Martin said. The Sweet Home Active Revitalization Committee is looking at the issue too and deciding whether to support the formation of the district.
After a discussion, the council will make a decision whether to move forward with the urban renewal district process, Martin said. If they decide to move forward, the council will need to determine when and how to conduct public meetings and then whether to form an urban renewal district agency and plan.
That would cost another $25,000 to $30,000 in consulting fees, Martin said. The process, including a feasibility study by Tashman Johnson and Elaine Howard Consulting, has cost approximately $6,000 so far.
The council has the authority to create the district, Martin said. The other taxing districts cannot stop it. Citizens could override the decision. They would have 30 days to gather signatures and use the referral process to call an election on the matter.
If the council does plan to go forward with the district, Martin said, the council and consultants would hold a series of public meetings on the matter. Approximately 25 attended the work session, including council, staff, the consultants and the public.
Support at the meeting appeared to favor the second area for an urban renewal district, Martin said.
Present at the meeting were councilors Jim Bean, Laure Fowler, Greg Mahler, Scott McKee Jr. and Mayor Craig Fentiman. Eric Markell and Jim Gourley were absent.
In other business, the council:
– Following the work session, during its regular meeting, reapp
ointed Dave Holley to the Budget Committee.
– Approved water and sewer rate increases. The increases range from 3.46 to 4.41 percent depending on how much water is used. For a household using 700 cubic feet of water per month, the rate increase amounts to $3.03 per month.
– Adopted an ordinance regulating recycling at multi-family dwelling units of more than five units. Developers of such new multi-family construction will need to create a designated area for recycling activities by residents.
-Adopted an ordinance updating the city’s fence codes, allowing the construction of taller fences within setback areas, which will also permit hedges. For information about specific projects, contact the Community Development Department at 367-8113.