Item 4 - Ordinance on Downtown Urban Renewal Plan Amendments

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change is included in the ordinance, and is marked as a change. The motion assumes that this change will be made as part of adoption of the ordinance. The amendments are necessary to allow the Urban Renewal Agency to increase its financial capacity to fund a large project such as the West Broadway redevelopment effort. “Maximum indebtedness” is a spending cap for all expenditures in the district beginning in FY99. The limit is required by Oregon statutes. The current “maximum indebtedness” of $33 million has nearly been fully spent, with the bulk Adopting a “maximum indebtedness” figure does not authorize or having been spent on the library. obligate the district to spend money or enter into debt. Rather, it allows the current and future Urban Renewal Agency Boards to have the ability to fund projects over time, either with cash or by issuing debt. Extending the termination date allows the agency to issue debt with a 20-year repayment schedule and to maximize the agency’s ability to pay for a large-scale development project. More information about each of the proposed plan amendments is included in the attachments. Attachment C includes background information on the proposed plan amendments. ? Attachment D is a memorandum from the City Attorney regarding the referral period for the ? ordinance amending the plan. Attachment E includes a draft of the amended plan. ? Attachment F includes a draft report on the plan that sets out financial information about the impact ? of the plan. Attachment G includes a letter sent to the Lane County Administrator in response to the County’s ? comments on the plan amendments. The Eugene Redevelopment Advisory Committee (ERAC) met on April 19 and discussed the possibility of a plan amendment. As a result of its discussions, ERAC unanimously recommended that the Downtown District Urban Renewal Plan be amended to increase the district’s financial capacity. The Planning Commission received the proposed amendments and reviewed them during its June 18 meeting. The Planning Commission chose not to submit any comments. Timeline A timeline for the major activities for the West Broadway redevelopment project is included as Attachment H. RELATED CITY POLICIES The redevelopment of West Broadway is related to one of the 2007-2008 Council Goals: Downtown – InitiativeFacilitate significant revitalization of downtown core. Downtown development is guided by policies in the Downtown Plan and Growth Management Policies (#1, 2, 3, 10, and 14). A number of financial policies would guide the creation of the final economic development finance plan, including the City’s debt policies. COUNCIL OPTIONS The council may adopt the ordinance amending the urban renewal plan or may decline to adopt the plan amendments. If the ordinance amending the plan is not adopted by the council, insufficient urban L:\CMO\2007 Council Agendas\M070813\S0708134.doc