Renewal zones may add grade schools

Sorensen and Winton elementary schools could become part of Coeur d’Alene’s urban renewal districts depending on the results of a study ordered Wednesday by the city’s urban renewal agency, the Lake City Development Corp.

The eligibility study is the first step to amend urban renewal district boundaries to include the schools. The LCDC board must vote on an amendment proposal, and the City Council would give final approval.

LCDC and the Coeur d’Alene School District began talks in February about using urban renewal money to bring the elementary school into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The urban renewal agency lobbied the school district to keep Sorensen open when it was recommended for closure last winter. Sorensen will begin its first year as a magnet school for the arts and humanities this fall. About $421,000 in improvements, such as an elevator, are needed to bring the school up to federal disabilities standards, according to a study by Architects West.

But because Sorensen is outside the boundaries of the agency’s two urban renewal districts, officials weren’t sure it would be legal to give the school urban renewal money.

LCDC’s lawyer presented four options to the agency, and the board decided the best was to adjust the boundaries of the urban renewal district that encompasses the downtown area to include Sorensen school.

Board member Dave Patzer, who also is chairman of the school district’s long-range planning committee, suggested including Winton school on LaCrosse Avenue in the study, and the board agreed. Winton is on the school district’s repair list.

LCDC will hire a consultant to complete the study. Tony Berns, LCDC’s executive director, said he hopes the study will be ready for the September board meeting. The study will look at whether the properties qualify to be in an urban renewal district according to the legal definition of a blighted area.

At Wednesday’s meeting, LCDC board members emphasized the importance of Sorensen – and any schools – to the downtown area.

“What better way to help that happen than to use tax dollars to make it happen?” Dixie Reid said.

Though members discussed including other properties in the study, their vote made it clear it was to only look at Winton and Sorensen schools.

District boundaries would be adjusted in a “shoestring fashion” to include the schools, encompassing as little property as possible to reach the school sites, which are each about a block from district boundaries.