Item B: URA - West Broadway Preliminary Financing Plan

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includes a draft of the amended plan. Attachment E includes a draft report on the plan that sets out financial information about the impact of the plan. Attachment F includes maps of the potential expansion areas. If the URA adopts the proposed motion, the plan and report will be sent to the Planning Commission and overlapping taxing districts for comment, and will be available for citizen review prior to the public hearing and ordinance amending the plan. The plan amendment process is described in Attachment C. By circulating a plan amendment to the various groups, the council is not committing to enacting the specific proposed amendments; rather, the agency is requesting those various groups to provide input to the council on the possibility of making proposed amendments to the plan. The council has the authority to adopt plan amendments that differ from the ones circulated to the public. The Eugene Redevelopment Advisory Committee (ERAC) met on April 19 and discussed the possibility of an urban renewal plan amendment. As a result of this discussion, the committee unanimously recom- mended that the Downtown District Urban Renewal Plan be amended to increase the financial capacity. Timeline An updated timeline for the major activities for the West Broadway redevelopment project is included as Attachment G. With respect to the Downtown Urban Renewal District Plan amendment, the URA is requested to take action today to forward the plan and report to the Planning Commission and the overlapping taxing districts. In addition, the council would hold a public hearing in July and consider an ordinance to amend the urban renewal plan in August, before summer break. The HUD Section 108 Loan, another significant financial tool for this project, is also included in the timeline. The next step is for the council to hold a public hearing in July on the specific project to be funded with the HUD Section 108 funds. City Council authorization of the loan would follow shortly thereafter. 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. AGENCY OPTIONS The URA may forward to the Planning Commission and overlapping taxing districts the proposed amendments to the Downtown Urban Renewal Plan or may decline to do so. If this amendment process does not start as soon as possible, the urban renewal funds will not be available this fall for the financial requirements of the West Broadway project. The agency would then need to either delay the project or find other resources to pay for the City’s share of the public/private partnership. The URA may direct staff to include alternative amendments to the plan. The main policy choices pertain to the maximum indebtedness amount, termination date, and boundary expansion area. L:\CMO\2007 Council Agendas\M070529\S070529B.doc