JohnA: What the legislature is missing is that in their efforts to reign in big city URAs it is the small cities that will be ‘thrown under the bus’. For most small cities urban renewal is their only tool to attract new development. It is this new development that is being asked to fund their basic infrastructure needs, like mandated upgrades to their wastewater and water facilities. No airport hangars here, just basic needs that are swamping the budgets of small cities. Example of how urban renewal helped city of Dover below.

In Dover the developer has provided 4,000 wastewater hookups to the city when his development only required a boost of 600. He also provided water improvements, a fire station and the town’s first real city hall on 1,000 feet of prime waterfront. The latter were donated to enhance the city of Dover and not because they would be reimbursed through urban renewal. Similar efforts are underway in cities like Oldtown, Priest River, Spirit Lake, Bonners Ferry and Riggins. Only via urban renewal would city residents be seeing this important relationship between their city and those helping to make their towns better.

If the Senate goes along with this nonsense this basic and important tool will be lost, and along with it the only opportunity small cities have to meet their burgeoning infrastructure needs.