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Urban Renewal Agency
The City of Coburg’s Urban Renewal Agency was designed to create a district that supports planning and building of the municipal wastewater system.
The Urban Renewal Agency Board consists of the Mayor and City Council as Directors and with the Mayor acting as Chair. The City Administrator serves as the Executive Director of the Urban Renewal Agency. The Urban Renewal Agency is a separate municipal corporation responsible for governing Coburg's urban renewal area. Because the Wastewater Project was completed in 2014, meetings are generally conducted bi-annually to set the budget and review the audit.
Purpose
The purpose of urban renewal is to invest in public infrastructure in designated geographic areas of a city. Urban renewal is a transformative tool, providing a dedicated source of funding and a specialized financing mechanism for construction of an agreed upon set of public infrastructure and financing activities in those designated areas to spur investment where it might not otherwise occur.
Urban Renewal in Oregon
Urban renewal agencies are authorized by State statute (ORS 457.010 et seq.), must be activated by a municipality, and may be governed by a housing authority, a board or commission appointed by the city, or by the city council. Urban renewal agencies do not provide general government services, but may make or carry out urban renewal plans which may include the following activities in support of projects in the plan:
- Acquisition of real property;
- Assistance in relocation of displaced persons;
- Installation, construction or reconstruction of streets and utilities; and
- Repair, rehabilitation or demolition of buildings.
Financing Urban Renewal Activities
Urban renewal activities are funded through tax increment financing (TIF). This mechanism relies on the increment of taxes resulting from increased property values during the life of the urban renewal area. Taxing districts continue to collect revenues at a capped level set when the area is formed, until the area closes, at which point the original formula for distribution resumes. When urban renewal is successful, core services are provided and property values in the area increase. The assessed valuation of all the properties is added back into the tax rolls and taxing districts get additional tax revenues that would not have been generated without the urban renewal activity.
Prioritizing Activity in the Plan
To collect tax increment, the Agency must have debt. Revenues are used to fund projects and pay off the debt. The Coburg URA tracks funding through a Plan which shows expected project cost in relationship to projections for tax increment revenue for each area.
Creating the Urban Renewal Area
To undertake urban renewal activity, the Agency must have a plan for the area. The Plan must describe the proposed activities and projects; the relationship to local objectives; planned land uses; processes for property acquisition and land disposition; financing methods and maximum bonded indebtedness allowed under the Plan; and procedures for amendment. Projects typically funded include public infrastructure improvements and amenities to facilitate redevelopment, grants or loans to business or property owners for rehabilitation or redevelopment projects, and disposition of Agency-owned property for redevelopment. The Plan includes characterizing existing physical and economic conditions; justification for the proposed area; the relationship between existing conditions and the proposed projects in the Plan; financial analysis of the Plan; and the potential impacts to taxing districts. Notification procedures for creating an urban renewal area are articulated in statute and require citywide notice, consultation with potentially affected taxing districts and neighborhood associations, as well as public hearings.
Changing an Urban Renewal Plan
Plans can be amended over time to reflect changing priorities of a community. The method for amending a plan is set out in the statute, may be further defined by the urban renewal plan for a specific area, and differs based on the scope of the amendment being offered. Generally speaking, however, the addition of a goal, objective, or project is considered to be a major amendment to the plan and requires significant community outreach. Minor amendments to plans can generally be accomplished by resolution of the Agency. Increasing the maximum indebtedness or adding land to the urban renewal area are considered to be substantial amendments under the statute and require similar notification and approval procedures as the creation of a new area.
‘Closing Out’ Urban Renewal Areas
When the Agency is no longer in debt and the activities under the plan have been completed (or a decision is made to cease activities), the area may be closed. At that time, any remaining agency assets are transferred to the city and the tax increment is distributed among the taxing districts.
