does like most people not notice that most of downtown is already a urban renewal area that keeps 'renewing' every time its about to expire?

its shocking that so many people let this go unchecked.

I never have been a fan of that guy Gerry Mandering....

Looks as if those blighted structures such as Macy's/The Nines, Nordstrom's and Fox Tower are inside this urban renewal zone.

Yes, the most expensive real estate in Oregon desperately needs urban renewal.

Gerry Mandering for Guv.:
"I say,, now Guvnor" what wud yu like w/ yur crumpets, tea or bisquits?????
Absurd....yes,
but c'mon now guv...., who der yu like?
My guess...., go with the money honey.
Although absurd, it's possible, if not probable.
VTY,
"The Curmudgeon"

"Holey" map making, Batman. Call the commissioners. It's going to be hard to stop the Weasel Troop. Do we have the right tools in the Bat Cave. (Total apologies to Batman).

Peggy, I agree but I do like Pat Pending and Al Dente. Good guys, they are! (OK, deep breath.)

Maybe we ask the USAF to use PDX as a bombing run, then renew the entire city!

Gerry Mandering is my current congressional representative. Why would he want to run for guv?

Why deny the obvious, child?

Hell, deny the obvious child!

A City Council of children would do better for our community.

And as an extra, here's a grand reminder that when dealing with a Paulson, hang onto your wallet with both hands. Hell, staple the thing to your butt, for that matter:

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/10/10/101753/inaction-by-treasurys-paulson.html

So acre by acre CoP diverts future money from Mult county's share of property taxes to themselves.

News reporters don't care, it's been this way for eons and if they didn't get it then, why should they now?

Looks to me like someone is wanting more $$ to spruce up their themepark, or maybe it's just the showroom?

Too bad Ted Wheeler is not in their way.
Think Cogan will step up to say No to this scheme,
or will he lay in line with the rest?

Ooops!
Cogen,
Think Cogen will step up to say No to this scheme, . . . ?

Gee, look for major investigative reporting by the "O", wait.. their offices are locating in... never mind...

Would love to know the process by which some properties were included in the map and others were hopscotched over. I'm sure it's correlated to the number of visits to Sam's office by the usual developer and parking magnate suspects.

This can be stopped.

We're about ready to file a petition to require voter approval in Clackamas County. Tomorrow likely.

Folks in Lake Oswego, Milwaukie, Oregon City and Portland who are interested in filing their own, please start thinking about who, or if you, will step up to be a chief petitioner. It only takes 1 chief petitioner, can be 2 or 3, and the drafting of the petition language is already complete.
Once we roll out our effort, it will be easy to help coordinate a simultaneous effort in multiple municipalities.

Petition, how can we track down more info on your petition effort?

This just disgusts me. All the tax revenue resulting from growth in most of the central city would be kept from schools and county services.

This is just no longer excusable(as if it ever was.)

I have been told by several reliable sources that years ago, when PDC modified the boundaries of the urban renewal district that includes MLK, one commissioner literally walked the new proposed boundaries with a bunch of his buddies to ensure that his friends were in and his enemies were out. Look at the boundaries now. They zig-zag all over the place.

Clinamen, apparently Cogen isn't that happy about it. We'll see if he stays that way:

http://blogs.wweek.com/news/2010/10/12/county-chairman-voices-concern-over-mayors-urban-renewal-proposal/comment-page-1/#comment-299044

It would be interesting to compile a map with all of the property owners identified in the red zone.

It does look like the grey area is probably government buildings and Portland State.

Here are the obvious things I see they're trying to shoehorn in:

1) all parts of "mid-town" which aren't currently in one of the three(!) existing UR areas

2) PSU campus

3) part of the waterfront for an expensive amphitheater

4) the Mult Co Courthouse

5) Whatever is west of Couch Park

6) The last remaining sections of NW between 17th and 19th which are still "affordable" (we're being relative here) for housing and businesses

7) A bunch of industrial land and parking lots on the north end

Surprisingly, it does not include PGE park. But does include the Oregonian.

Oh, I guess you're right Umpire. I guess most of PSU isn't included. And that's the one area where I would support a spruce up.

Too bad the local federal prosecutors are too dumb or too lazy or too on the take to be bothered with this kind of brazen criminal behavior.

If I remember correctly, the state Legislature reined in the worst of Portland's abuses with a recent new law that requires Portland to give back to PPS and MultCo some of the money it steals from them at 10 years instead of making them wait the full 20 or 25 years. They need to go one-step farther and require URAs to expire when they are supposed to expire and prevent renewals, which Portland loves to do (I think the ClackCo petition being circulated would specifically require this in their county). It also needs to firm up a definition for what constitutes "blight". Maybe by the number of residents living in poverty or depressed commercial activity or something. By any reasonable definition of blight, URA money should be spent in Cully or outer Southeast Portland. The idea that the Pearl, Downtown, and SoWa are "blighted" is ridiculous. Although . . . considering all the unsold condos down there and the coming immigration jail . . . sorry, detention facility . . . maybe the term actually does apply to SoWa . . .

Even if a municipality has a particular Urban Renewal project or plan they wanted to fund and complete "Tax Increment Financing" should not be used.

TIF bonds costs more that general obligation bonds and paying off the TIF debt relies nearly entirely upon blatant misappropriation from higher priority government services.

Yet it became widely acceptable to spend millions of school dollars on development and rail transit projects.

Now we are witnessing an addiction to Urban Renewal that has reached the point of mandatory public intervention.

clinamen - we already have a kiddie council

Petition - how do we contact you...

LucsAdvo: .we already have a kiddie council. .

Or more like a kitty council, still under the
Katz agenda.

The Katz agenda for Council has to go!
I'm sure Mayor Creepy would not want to deal with a council of pussies.

Contact info when Clackams County petition is filed. Perhaps tomorrow.

But there has been talk about duplicating the effort in Portland.
A Chief Petitioner has stepped up.
There can be 3.
Are there two more who could step up.
Prominent, and/or really smart, good speakers?
Maybe with employed by or retired from any of the taxing jurisdictions relying on property taxes which Urban Renewal diverts?
Same in Milwaukie, LO & Oregon City?
Imagine that? Same petition filed all at the same time.

After filing it takes about 3-4 weeks to get a ballot title so the signature gathering effort would not begin until after the election.

Nothing else would be going on so all of the volunteers, money and attention wold be available.

The number of signatures needed is only around 8000 for our Clackmas County Petition. Oregon City, Milwaukie and LO could ride our gathering signatures side by side.

Think about how this would play out.