What is Urban Renewal?

Urban Renewal is a tool used to improve the economic vitality of specified areas by reinvesting increases of an area's property taxes as they grow over time. Urban Renewal improves neighborhoods and communities by making public investments to improve areas that may be unsafe or need improvement conditions. Urban Renewal Agencies (URA) are created by state law, ORS Chapter 457, and are activated by a governing body which is tasked to create a plan to demonstrate action for improvements. 

How does Urban Renewal Work?

Urban Renewal uses a method called Tax Incremental Financing which allows reinvestment of the increase of property taxes from the established area. When a city creates an Urban Renewal Area, it sets the current property value, which is the "frozen base," this means property taxes collected from that value will continue to go to its regular taxing bodies and programs. If the property value increases in the urban renewal area, that increase of monies, known as the increment, will go into the Urban Renewal District, which is what is used to fund redevelopment projects and improvements in the Urban Renewal Plan. 

Check out the Urban Renewal Districts in Lane County!