November 14, 2003
Reconsidering Urban Renewal Districts And Tax-Increment Financing
Way back in June I mentioned an Oregonian story about the costs and benefits of urban renewal districts and tax-increment financing.
Then about a month ago, I appear to have neglected to mention a Portland Tribune story on the same subject:
A battle is brewing over whether millions of dollars in property taxes will ultimately flow back into city and county coffers to pay for such necessities as schools and law enforcement or pay for downtown infrastructure development.
It is a fight that turns on the Portland Development Commission's plans to extend the life of its oldest and most visible urban renewal area.
The 309-acre Downtown Waterfront Urban Renewal Area is scheduled to be fully restored to the city's tax rolls in April. The area was carved out for urban renewal in 1974, which led to milestone multimillion-dollar projects such as RiverPlace and Pioneer Place, widely credited with helping spark the downtown renaissance.
Despite mounting opposition, PDC, the city's urban renewal agency, appears to be stacking the decks, critics say, in a way that will ensure the controversial extension.
Not so, said PDC general counsel Chip Lazenby, "there hasn't been a strategy to cram the district with projects before expiration."
Which brings us back around to today's Oregonian, which picks up the story again:
Urban renewal funding uses a portion of property tax revenue that is generated by new development to repay the public costs of stimulating the new projects. Under a change mandated by a 1998 election, a portion of the new money is already being returned to other taxing jurisdictions included in the Waterfront renewal area.
The demise of the Waterfront renewal area would not affect the South Park Blocks or River District renewal areas that cover other substantial portions of downtown. But it would reduce public assistance for several proposed projects covering more than 110 blocks in the heart of the downtown and Old Town/Chinatown retail and commercial areas.
According to The Oregonian, PDC will hold a public hearing as part of its November 19 agenda, and testimony may be presented at its December 10 meeting.