Urban Renewal Amendment_Greater Downtown DistrictTHE CITY OF
Dui
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
Dubuque
kital
All- America City
II 111!
2012
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Resolution of Necessity for the Amendment of the Greater Downtown
Urban Renewal District Plan
DATE: April 9, 2013
Economic Development Director Dave Heiar recommends City Council approval of a
Resolution of Necessity that finds that an amendment of the Amended and Restated
Urban Renewal Plan for the Greater Downtown Urban Renewal District is both
necessary and appropriate; and sets a public hearing on the proposed amendment for
June 3, 2013.
The proposed amendment of this District would expand the District to include the area
bounded by Harrison, Salina, and Camp Streets, which will hereby be referred to as the
Harrison Street Subarea, and comply with House File 2460, adopted by the Iowa
legislature in 2012, that requires urban renewal plans be amended or modified to reflect
any active urban renewal projects.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
hrilit44 krt.,709,
Michael C. Van Milligen
MCVM:jh
Attachment
cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney
Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
Teri Goodmann, Assistant City Manager
David J. Heiar, Economic Development Director
THE CITY OF
Dui
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
TO: Michael Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: David J. Heiar, Economic Development Director
SUBJECT: Resolution of Necessity for the Amendment of the Greater Downtown
Urban Renewal District Plan
Dubuque
All-America City
I11.'
2012
DATE: April 8, 2013
INTRODUCTION
This memorandum presents for City Council consideration a Resolution of Necessity
that: 1) finds that an amendment of the Amended and Restated Urban Renewal Plan
for the Greater Downtown Urban Renewal District is both necessary and appropriate;
and 2) sets a public hearing on the proposed amendment for June 3, 2013.
The proposed amendment of this District would (i) expand the District to include the
area bounded by Harrison, Salina, and Camp Streets, which will hereby be referred to
as the Harrison Street Subarea (see Attached Map), and (ii) comply with House File
2460, adopted by the Iowa legislature in 2012, that requires urban renewal plans be
amended or modified to reflect any active urban renewal projects.
BACKGROUND
The Downtown Dubuque Urban Renewal District was originally established in 1967. It
has been amended and restated on several occasions over the years to expand the
boundaries to include the Old Main area, the Iowa Inn property, Dubuque Museum of
Art, Historic Federal Building, Locust Street Parking Ramp, the Carnegie -Stout Public
Library, the South Main area, the Warehouse District, the South Port area, the Cable
Car area, the Bluff Street area, the South Bluff area, the Ice Harbor area, the Industrial
Harbor, the Washington Neighborhood, Chaplain Schmitt Island, the East 7th Street
area and the Kerper Boulevard area.
On October 1, 2013, the Greater Downtown Urban Renewal District was expanded to
include the North Kerper Boulevard Subarea, along with the merger of the adjacent
Quebecor Economic Development District. The expansion allowed both public and
private development efforts to benefit from the flexibility in the use of tax increment
financing in the larger district.
Before a municipality can exercise the authority conferred by Chapter 403 "Urban
Renewal" of the Iowa Code, a Resolution of Necessity must be adopted finding that the
area being considered for urban renewal district designation is either a slum, blighted or
economic development area and that the rehabilitation, conservation, redevelopment,
development, or a combination thereof, of the area is necessary in the interest of the
public health, safety or welfare of the residents of the city.
The Iowa Code defines a blighted area as, "an area of a municipality within which the
local governing body of the municipality determines that the presence of a substantial
number of slum, deteriorated, or deteriorating structures; defective or inadequate street
layout; faulty lot layout in relation to size, adequacy, accessibility, or usefulness;
unsanitary or unsafe conditions; deterioration of site or other improvements; diversity of
ownership, tax or special assessment delinquency exceeding the fair value of the land;
defective or unusual conditions of title; or the existence of conditions which endanger
life or property by fire and other causes; or any combination of these factors;
substantially impairs or arrests the sound growth of a municipality, retards the provision
of housing accommodations, or constitutes an economic or social liability and is a
menace to the public health, safety, or welfare in its present condition and use." An
economic development area is defined as, "an area of a municipality designated by the
local governing body as appropriate for commercial and industrial enterprises, public
improvements related to housing and residential development, or construction of
housing and residential development for low and moderate income families, including
single or multifamily housing." The Harrison Street Subarea is proposed to be
designated as a blighted area.
The need to expand and amend the Greater Downtown Urban Renewal District has
risen from the desire to utilize tax increment financing to incentivize an expansion of a
local business into vacant or underutilized facilities. The amendment will also allow the
continued use of tax increment financing to promote economic development activities
throughout the District for Fiscal Year 2013 -2014. Pursuant to House File 2460, the
amended plan will describe the specific use of tax increment funds, reflecting the
utilization of tax rebates, the creation of public infrastructure, or other planned
expenditures.
DISCUSSION
This proposed expansion and amendment of the Greater Downtown Urban Renewal
District would result in the creation of a new Harrison Street Subarea. The expanded
District would allow tax increment financing to be utilized to support economic
development in the Greater Downtown region. Additionally, existing bonded
indebtedness in the District could be used to offer financial incentives necessary to
encourage private investment, resulting in the creation or retention of quality
employment opportunities in the Harrison Street Subarea, as they are offered
throughout the Greater Downtown Urban Renewal District.
The attached Resolution directs staff to prepare an Amended and Restated Urban
Renewal Plan, setting forth the urban renewal projects that are currently expected to be
undertaken in the District, and to forward the Plan to the Long Range Planning
Commission for its review and comment. This is required by Chapter 403 along with a
consultation process that provides the County and School Board an opportunity to
comment on the proposed Plan prior to the required public hearing by the City Council.
2
Additionally, to the extent the amendment includes the use of tax increment revenues
for a public building, an analysis must be provided demonstrating alternative
development and funding options for such public buildings.
A City Council public hearing on the Amended and Restated Urban Renewal Plan will
be scheduled for June 3, 2013. The public notice will be published four to twenty days
before the meeting to allow for the appropriate publication requirements. This will allow
time for preparation of the Plan, review and comment period by the Long Range
Planning Commission, preparation of the public building analysis and the consultation
process with the taxing entities.
RECOMENDATION
I recommend the City Council adopt the attached Resolution of Necessity that begins
the process of amending the Urban Renewal Plan for the Greater Downtown Urban
Renewal District to expand the District to include the Harrison Street area as a subarea
of the Greater Downtown Urban Renewal District.
The amendment will provide additional tools to encourage reinvestment and
redevelopment activities in the new area of the District, while continuing the use of tools
for the revitalization of the entire Greater Downtown Urban Renewal District
ACTION STEP
The action step for the City Council is to adopt the Resolution of Necessity attached to
this memorandum.
F: \USERS \Econ Dev \Urban Renewal \Greater Downtown UR District \2013.1 Amendment \20130402 Memo for
Resolution of Necessity.docx
3
RESOLUTION NO. 122 -13
A RESOLUTION OF NECESSITY FINDING THAT A CERTAIN AREA A DJACENT TO
THE GREATER DOWNTOWN URBAN RENEWAL DISTRICT MEETS THE
DEFINITION OF AN BLIGHTED AREA UNDER THE URBAN RENEWAL LAW, AND
THAT DEVELOPMENT OF SAID AREA IS NECESSARY IN THE INTEREST OF THE
RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA, AND SETTING DATES OF
HEARING AND CONSULTATION ON A PROPOSED AMENDEMENT TO THE
URBAN RENEWAL PLAN FOR SAID DISTRICT.
Whereas, the City Council of the City of Dubuque has heretofore approved the
Amended and Restated Urban Renewal Plan for the Greater Downtown Urban Renewal
District (the "District ") in order to provide redevelopment opportunities which will further
the purposes and objectives of the foregoing Urban Renewal Plan; and
Whereas, the City Council has found that certain areas adjacent to the District
meet the definition of a blighted area as found in Chapter 403 "Urban Renewal" of the
Iowa Code; and
Whereas, Chapter 403 of the Iowa Code requires that before urban renewal
authority may be exercised, a City Council must adopt a resolution of necessity finding
that the area in question is a slum, blighted or economic development area, and that so
designating such area is necessary in the interest of the public health, safety or welfare
of the residents of the municipality.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF DUBUQUE, IOWA:
Section 1. That the Harrison Street Sub -area generally described in Exhibit A to
this Resolution, which is proposed to be added to the Greater Downtown Urban
Renewal District, is a blighted area as defined by Chapter 403 of the Iowa Code and is
appropriate for an urban renewal project.
Section 2. That the development of the above - described expansion area is
necessary and appropriate to facilitate the proper growth and development of the
community in accordance with sound planning and local community objectives.
Section 3. That the City Manager is authorized and directed to prepare an
Amended and Restated Urban Renewal Plan for the Greater Downtown Urban Renewal
District to accomplish the foregoing purposes and objectives, to include in such Plan
any appropriate project activities and details, to forward said Plan to the City's Long
Range Planning Advisory Commission for review and comment, and to determine an
appropriate date for and conduct the consultation process required by law with affected
taxing entities concerning the proposed amendment.
Section 4. That the City Council hold a public hearing on the adoption of the
proposed Amended and Restated Urban Renewal Plan for the Greater Downtown
Urban Renewal District on June 3, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. in the Historic Federal Building,
350 West 6th Street, Dubuque, Iowa 52001. The notice of said hearing shall generally
identify the areas covered by the Amended and Restated Plan, the areas proposed to
be added to the District, and the general scope of the urban renewal activities planned
for such areas, and said notice shall be published and available to the public not less
than four days nor more than twenty days before the date of said meeting. A copy of
the notice of public hearing shall be sent by ordinary mail to the affected taxing entities.
Section 5. That the City Clerk is further directed to send by ordinary mail a copy
of said Amended and Restated Urban Renewal Plan, the notice of public hearing, and,
to the extent the amendment includes the use of tax increment revenues for a public
building, an analysis of alternative development and funding options for such public
buildings, to the Dubuque Community School District and the County Board of
Supervisors, as the affected taxing entities.
PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this 15th day of April, 2013.
ATTEST:
K
n Firnstahl, City Clerk
J
7 Roy . Buol, Mayor
F: \USERS \Econ Dev \Urban Renewal \Greater Downtown UR District\2013.1 Amendment\20130407 Resolution of Necessity.DOCX
EXHIBIT A
HARRISON STREET SUBAREA —
GREATER DOWNTOWN URBAN RENEWAL DISTRICT
Parcel Description
Lot 1 and Lot 2 of Harrison Street Place No. 2, Lot 1 and Lot 2 of Harrison Street Place
No. 4, and Lot 1 of Harrison Street Place No. 5 all in the City of Dubuque, Dubuque
County, Iowa and any adjoining public rights of way.
I hereby certify that this land surveying document was prepared by
me or under my dir ct personal supervision and that I am a duly
licensed rofessi a Land Surveyor under the laws of the State of
low
Ronald J. T . rner, L.S. No. 09651
My renewal date is Dec. 31, 2014
Pages on sheets covered by this seal: This sheet only.
Date
F:\USERS \Econ Dev \Urban Renewal \Greater Downtown UR District \2013.1 Amendment \Harrison Street
Subarea Legal Description - RoN Exhibit A.docx
Greater Downtown Urban Renewal District Expansion
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