Laserfiche WebLink
corridor. Investors in new private developments want assurance that public <br />improvements are in place or will be put in place when they finance projects, at least <br />if they are to invest in anything other than the current strip-mall status quo. <br />You can’t just squirrel money away from various semi-hidden budget sources like you <br />were building a new city hall—it’s not certain financing and there’s not enough <br />money. <br />You can’t just take what special grants or surpluses come into different city <br />departments, that doesn’t accord withcarrying a holistic plan for a neighborhood. <br />You can’t just count on a influential politicians to get federal funding for a few <br />showcase projects—the “Bridge to Nowhere” approach is costly but never gets the job <br />done quickly or completely. When Portlanders wanted a streetcar, they abandoned <br />the approach used for the West Side Max Line, which was to get big money from the <br />federal government and then spend huge amounts on planning and side projects and <br />spend years doing it.They focused on local support for something that created local <br />benefits. <br />Using the System Development Charges individual developments pay won’t work <br />its <br />too uncertain when the money comes in, and the City administration has been very <br />clear they don’t want much incoming SDC money to be devoted to needs in the <br />immediate vicinity of new projects. They prefer to keep it available for city-wide <br />needs. <br />What will work is to use the established mechanisms for funding improvements in a <br />district, which recapture public spending through assessments on those who have <br />benefitted. Local Improvement Districts can be set up, usually they apply to business <br />and commercial properties. Urban Renewal Districts use tax increment financing. <br />The specific methods of charging or collecting the funds may not be perfect, but they <br />allow financing of public improvements by those who get specific financial benefit, <br />that’s what important. <br />4® ¤²³ ¡«¨²§ ¯±®¯¤± ¥¨­ ­¢¨­¦ ®¥ ¨­¥± ²³±´¢³´±¤Ǿ ¥®±¬   #¨³¨¹¤­ 0« ­­¨­¦ 4¤ ¬ <br /> ­£ ¶±¨³¤   2¤¥¨­¤¬¤­³ 0« ­ <br /> <br />Local Improvement Districts and Urban Renewal Districts must gain public support to <br />be established. Recent history tells us the influence of the Council and Manager is not <br />sufficient to win enough support.The Citizen Planning approach offers the only <br />chance to get the support, and establish an adequate financing mechanism for public <br />improvements in South Willamette, and would be an approach that could be used in <br />other transportation corridors. <br />Randy Prince <br />2599 Onyx St <br />PO Box 927, Eugene <br />