Why businesses should care about URA and TIF
On Tuesday, June 21st, the Commercial Community Involvement Organization (CCIO) will host via Zoom a community meeting for all businesses and commercial property owners in Tualatin. The proposed Urban Renewal Area (URA) and its Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) for a massive portion of the City of Tualatin is the topic.
Additional information including a map of the proposed area and meeting link are posted on our website www.tualatincio.org/commercial-cio.
Cities in Oregon use URA to designate areas for development support. A Workgroup has been created by the City Council to review the project’s vision and scope. This includes:
- Identifying projects to create an active civic core;
- Redevelop areas with quality mixed-use developments offering a variety of additional residential dwelling and retail options;
- Increase opportunities for living wage professional employment;
- Promote and develop recreational and cultural facilities, and integrate all efforts into the natural landscape with environmental stewardship.
The URA and resulting TIF are not approved by Tualatin voters. Creating and funding URA doesn’t increase property tax rates but rather allow funds from incremental taxes from property values to be allocated to the URA instead of the other taxing authorities.
Approval varies from city to city. In Tualatin, approval is required by the Tualatin City Council, Washington County Commissioners, TVF&R, Tigard-Tualatin School District, and the Water District.
The CCIO is represented in the Workgroup and we want to hear from you, Tualatin business owners and commercial property owners. The city staff plans to reach out to the public after the Workgroup completes its work for further comment before taking the final proposal to the City Council.
This ZOOM meeting gives you an overview of the proposed project presented by experts and a chance to give early feedback to the process. We hope you can participate.
To RSVP, email commercialcio@gmail.com.
RSVPs are not required but much appreciated. After the presentation by staff and consultants, a brief business meeting will follow, including elections to the CCIO Board.
For more information about these issues, go to our website www.tualatincio.org. If you would like to join our efforts, email me at Tualatincommercialcio@gmail.com.
