Moscow considers renewal district

MOSCOW, Idaho – The Moscow Urban Renewal Agency has forwarded a resolution to the Moscow City Council requesting that a large area in the central part of the city be considered as an urban renewal district.

A map distributed at Thursday’s meeting showed locations that Harlan Mann, a community development consultant from Boise, said had unsanitary conditions, faulty parking lot layouts, deteriorated water and sewer lines, and flooding and fire hazards, among other problems.

” ‘Deteriorated’ in my mind is abject slum conditions, and I don’t think you have any deteriorated buildings, ones that should be torn down now,” Mann said.

However, he explained that conditions are worsening. “You have older buildings throughout your downtown and almost by definition they are deteriorating.”

If formed, the district could redevelop some areas to make it easier for people to travel between the University of Idaho and downtown, the Moscow-Pullman Daily News reported.

Urban renewal districts are run by board members appointed by elected officials. The districts are intended to guide development for the public good. They typically operate on money generated through increases in property values – and thus the property taxes collected – after a district is formed.

Mann said he evaluated streets, alleys and parking lots, and he drove or walked to find streets that didn’t have full curbs or sidewalks on both sides.

“The main emphasis on this one, of course, is the number of owners in any given block that make it difficult for normal developments to do something bigger and better,” he said.

City Supervisor Gary Riedner said the improvements could be made by the city, but it doesn’t have the money. He said creating the district would allow the city to have a say in what improvements a developer can make.

“You have the ability to assist private development in this area in a more direct manner,” he said.