HomeMy WebLinkAboutA016 - Memo to City Council from Economic Development Coordinator dated October 19, 2001 • Memo
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TO: Mayor and City Council /�
FROM: Mark Reinig,Economic Development Coordinator{/i?
DATE: 10/19/01
SUBJECT: Clarification of Campustown Urban Revitalization Area (URA)Procedures for Approval
At the September 9, 2001 City Council meeting, during the approval on first reading of the URA Plan
for Campustown, a question concerning how many known projects were potentially going to take
advantage of the tax abatement program if implemented was asked. Staff indicated two projects were
considering taking advantage of the URA program if implemented. Several City Councilpersons
indicated that they were looking forward to reviewing the individual projects as they were submitted for
inclusion into the Campustown URA.
The intent of creating a Campustown Urban Revitalization Area District was to simplify the process by
having the applicant meet the specific Campustown Criteria Matrix requirements before the project was
eligible for the tax abatement benefits. Under this process the City Council would not see the projects
individually until February of each year when the tax abatement schedule for each new project in an
Urban Revitalization Area is brought before the City Council. City Council's approval in February is
that the projects have met the requirements of the Urban Revitalization Program and are eligible for the
tax abatement applied for. This is the process that is currently used in the other URA Districts in Ames
—Somerset,URA#7, and Downtown.