lents town center plan amendment study
Project Update

On Wednesday, June 25, 2008, the City Council approved the following amendments with a 4-0 vote.

  • The First Amendment to the Lents Town Center Urban Renewal Area will expand boundaries by 140.05 acres, increase maximum indebtedness by $170 million and extend the expiration date to June 30, 2020. 
  • The Twenty-Eighth Amendment to the Downtown Waterfront Urban Renewal Plan will remove 47.03 acres from the Plan area and standardize Plan amendment process. 
  • The Tenth Amendment to the South Park Blocks Urban Renewal Plan will remove 3.20 acres from the Plan area and standardize Plan amendment process. 
  • The Amended and Restated River District Urban Renewal Plan will expand boundaries by a net 41.98 acres, increase maximum indebtedness by approximately $325 million and extend the expiration date to June 30, 2021. 
  • The First Amendment to the Amended and Restated River District Urban Renewal Plan will expand boundaries by 8.53 acres and increase maximum indebtedness by $19 million.

June 18th Coucil documents:

On May 14, 2008, the PDC Board unanimously approved the Lents Town Center Resolution.

On January 8, 2008, the Lents Urban Renewal Advisory Committee approved recommendations made by a subcommittee of community stakeholders. On March 26, 2008, the PDC Board heard a presentation by PDC Staff on the Plan Amendments Study which included public testimony by three subcommittee members. The URAC recommends this Final Report and Recommendations for PDC Board consideration. Below is a description of the URA and Plan Amendment Study background.

Subcommittee Recommendations

The Subcommittee was responsible for developing a recommendation on boundary expansion and identifying needed projects, as well as providing advice and participating with staff at public outreach events. This group met five times from August to December 2007. The subcommittee presented the following recommendations to the Lents Town Center URAC on January 8, 2008:

1. Should the date to retire the URA (or last issuance of debt) be extended?

Yes: from 2015 to 2020
2. Should the boundary be expanded to include Foster Road (50th – 79th Avenues) and selected areas north of Powell Boulevard and east of 122nd Avenue?
Yes: A copy of the recommended map is posted to the website.
3. Should the maximum indebtedness be increased to complete more projects related to the goals in the URA Plan?
Yes: Add $170M based on financial projections of assessed value growth and redevelopment activity, for a total financial capacity of the LTC URA of $245M [$170M (additional recommended capacity) + $75M (original capacity) = $245M recommended total capacity (2026 would be the date to finish retiring bonds and debt)]

Since the URAC made the recommendations, PDC staff has presented the recommendations to local neighborhood and business associations to request a letter of support.
The following organizations have approved a letter of support:

  • Foster Area Business Association
  • Foster-Powell Neighborhood Association
  • Lents Neighborhood Association
  • Creston Kenilworth Neighborhood Association
  • Mount Scott – Arleta Neighborhood Association
  • Portland Public Schools

Subsequent to URAC’s approval of the above recommendations, PDC staff has been working over the last two months on two reports to document the process of the plan amendment. The “Final Report & Recommendations” is a compilation of the URAC/Subcommittee process and will be presented to the PDC Board on March 26, 2008. The “URA Plan Amendment & Report” is the official document that details the technical, legal, and financial requirements (ORS 547) for adopting a plan amendment. The PDC Board will hear a presentation and consider adoption of a resolution to approve the plan amendment for the Lents Town Center URA along with the Downtown URAs (i.e. Urban Renewal Advisory Group recommendations) on May 14, 2008. If the PDC Board adopts the resolution, it will be forwarded to the Planning Commission for consideration on June 3, 2008. If the Planning Commission recommends approval, it will be forwarded to the City Council for consideration in June as well.

Study Background

On April 28, 2007, PDC staff presented a DRAFT expansion map and other background information to the public at the Lents Resource Fair. On May 8, 2007, PDC staff presented an overview of the plan amendment study process to the Lents Town Center Urban Renewal Advisory Committee (URAC) at their regular meeting. Staff requested project ideas for consideration, concerns, and feedback on public involvement ideas.

Lents URA Background
The Lents Town Center Plan Amendment Study will revisit the existing urban renewal boundary (2,472 acres) and explore an increase in maximum indebtedness to fund community development projects. Generally, the study area for the expansion includes three areas centered along major transportation corridors: Foster Road, Powell Boulevard, and 122nd Avenue. The total acreage of the expansion areas cannot be in excess of 20 percent of the original size (541 acres) and citywide PDC cannot exceed more than 15 percent of the city's total land area. The scope of proposed changes, and any new projects associated with these areas, will be consistent with the original goals and objectives of the 1998 Urban Renewal Plan as well as ORS 457, which governs urban renewal plans and amendments.