URA scales back plan for downtown revenue allocation area
State rules now cap amount that can be included in urban renewal activities
The Lewiston Urban Renewal Agency is scaling back the size of its proposed new downtown revenue allocation area to fit under state limits.
Idaho sets a 10 percent cap on how much of a city’s overall assessed value can be included in urban renewal activities. Lewiston Community Development Director Laura Von Tersch told the agency board Tuesday that her original estimate of the total value of property within the area’s proposed boundaries added up to about $70 million.
That was well under the cap, but Von Tersch said that when city staff members used computer mapping for a more precise calculation of values, they came up with $96 million and Von Tersch had to trim some areas out of the proposed district.
She prioritized the sections that contain the most pressing infrastructure needs in the proposed district, like the century-old water lines that are limiting redevelopment downtown and the dilapidated stairs that connect Pioneer Park with New Sixth Street. She cut out industrial areas on the north side of D Street because they have high property values, and some areas that have already benefited from projects funded by an earlier downtown revenue allocation area.
Von Tersch also removed the Lewiston Tribune’s main office building and press hall from the proposed district to help further reduce the total property value within the boundaries. Retired Tribune Publisher A.L. “Butch” Alford Jr. sits on the agency board, so the move drew questions from some other board members about whether excluding the Tribune buildings was a conflict of interest.
But Von Tersch and agency attorney Jennifer Douglass said the Tribune would receive neither benefit nor harm from being included or excluded from the area, so there was no conflict. Still, Alford noted that he abstained from voting on matters involved in the agency’s reconstruction of First and Fifth streets in 2012 since the Fifth Street project abutted his property. He said he would therefore abstain from voting on matters regarding the proposed downtown district.
Now that the boundaries have firmed up, Von Tersch said a detailed legal description would be reviewed by the city attorney’s office before it is presented to the city council for an official determination that the area is deteriorating. That determination is necessary before the agency can continue to update the urban renewal plan. Once the new plan is ready, the city council will be able to consider it for final approval some time next year.
Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com or at (208) 310-1901, ext. 2266.
