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Jacksonville council may vote on urban renewal district By MELISSA MARTIN JACKSONVILLE - The City Council may vote Tuesday to create an urban renewal district that would generate between $3.9 million and $8 million for the city over 25 years. Council members are expected to deliberate about forming the district, which would help pay for projects such as rehabilitating the Britt Gardens, burying power lines in this historic town and improving the pavement on California Street. The meeting is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Old City Hall on the corner of Oregon and Main streets in Jacksonville. The city staff is recommending two ordinances to council members. One would create the urban renewal agency while the other would postpone any agency action until a future date. "Staff recommendation is to take a slower pace," said Paul Wyntergreen, city administrator. "So many things have come up on the national level. Some folks feel a little more time would be warranted." City staff had hoped to have an urban renewal agency in place by Oct. 5 to avoid a new law that would drop the tax rate from $12.21 to $9.38 per $1,000 of assessed value. The rate cut would greatly reduce the city's urban renewal income. Urban renewal districts work like this: The assessed value of the district is frozen over a 20- or 25-year period. Increases are given to the urban renewal agency and withheld from other taxing districts that would normally receive them. In Jacksonville, the proposed district would stretch from the Texaco station on Jacksonville Highway near the northern city limits to the cemetery and the Britt Gardens on the west edge of town. If the council takes no action Tuesday, the city will schedule a new round of public hearings about the urban renewal proposal, Wyntergreen said. The city needs an urban renewal district to pay for projects that can't be funded through regular city revenue, Wyntergreen said. The list includes fixing the storm drain and design flaws in the city's sewer system, paying for a new fire engine and helping restore 150-year-old brick buildings in town. Critics have said that some of the projects are not necessary and that Jacksonville, which boasts the region's highest housing prices, would be hard-pressed to identify "blight," one of the requirements for forming an urban renewal district. In other action, the city council scheduled a workshop at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10, to talk about how Jacksonville's growth fits into a regional plan spearheaded by the Rogue Valley Council of Governments. Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.