Urban Renewal---King Hales of Portland Master of Government Development

Hey Folks,

Another example of why Urban Renewal is a bad idea stems from the politicians ability to manipulate all the construction projects in a city with an Urban Renewal area or areas.  Please click the following link to an article in The Portland Tribune.  In it they demonstrate how the Mayor of Portland is going to overhaul the city's Urban Renewal Agencies, so he can create the image of what "HIS" utopian Portland would look like, much like the Mayors or Managers of Bandon, Coos Bay, North Bend, etc, etc, etc......Rob T. 

Mayor Hales proposes overhaul of city's urban renewal program.

http://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/212551-70985-mayor-hales-proposes-overhaul-of-citys-urban-renewal-program

Scrapping Education Urban Renewal Area

This effort has barely gotten off the ground, and would have taken many years to generate serious urban renewal funds, McNamara says. That’s because the PDC relies on tax increment financing, which freezes property values in urban renewal districts and siphons off taxes from rising property values to use for redevelopment. Much of the district is owned by PSU, which is property tax-exempt, limiting the available revenues to tap.

Dumping the district would mean less city aid for the university district in the south side of downtown, and $46 million less for subsidized housing near PSU.

The original urban renewal plan pushed by then-Mayor Adams called for improvements to some PSU buildings. But a subsequent tax ruling makes such projects “look a lot more questionable today,” McNamara says. That’s because any property taxes spent on PSU buildings must meet Oregon’s property tax limitation for education — causing a corresponding drop in property taxes for public schools. Hales sees the limitations of the PSU urban renewal area and “from a legal perspective, sees it as an imperfect tool,” McNamara says.

Related Posts:
FBI Press Release on Charges Against Local Bandon Developer Michael Drobot
Urban Renewal---Read How Schools suffer to Support Wealthy Foreign Companies
City of Bandon---Local Developer Michael Drobot Admits to Bribery & Conspiracy 
Preserving the American Dream:  Lessons in Beating Boondoggles
Agenda 21---Sustainable Development & Regionalism
City of Bandon---Votes on the renewal of City Manager's Contract
What is Craft3 & how does it relate to Agenda 21
INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL
Community Vs. Collectivism
Regionalism - The Blueprint for Your Serfdom
Success against Agenda 21
The Smoking Gun The direct link between Agenda 21 and local planners!
The International Code Council and You...
Port of Bandon in North Bend, Why?
Urban Renewal---Tualatin council to consider plan for Cabela's 
Urban Renewal---A tale of bad planning in two Cities
Urban Renewal---Oregon schools could recoup money
Bandon---Combine Private Public Partnership w/ Urban Renewal and you get cheese...
Urban Renewal---Tax fight aims at PSU renewal district
Urban Renewal Money in the hands of the Politicians
B-Corporations: The Redefining of what it means to be a Corporation
Support  SB478
Cities are using Monopoly Utilities to Game the System 
Action Alert:---State Legislation SB 478
The Federalization of Local Urban Renewal Agencies
The Antiplanner---The Feds Want to Take Your Car #22‏