—Letters— VOTE NO on Ballot Measure 02-68 by MAY 19!
Weaknesses and Risks of the Urban Renewal Plan
Newest Urban Renewal District not needed for downtown’s prosperity by Hugh Richard White, GT letter, May 14 [Read]
Newest URD would muffle citizens’ voice in downtown development by Kate Lindburg, GT letter, May 14 [Read]
Newest Despite what city says, taxpayers could end up with Evanite bill by Mark Knapp, GT letter, May 13 [Read]
Newest What buildings downtown would be lost to ‘urban renewal’? by M. F. Stilwell, GT letter, May 13 [Read]
Newest Ask yourself these questions before voting on renewal district by Jan Bottjer, GT letter, May 11 [Read]
New As I see it: Unknowns are troubling about URD proposal, By Kirk S. Nevin, May 7, Gazette Times [Read]
New Get Specific about UR plans, by Ernest A. Cuno,
May 6 GT letter [Read]
City’s urban renewal proposal needs overhaul to get ‘yes’ vote—Writer] agrees that a vibrant downtown enhances a city and requires financial assistance from the entire community. But [writer] cannot [ in good conscience vote for Measure 02-68 as it stands today... [Learn More]
Pros and cons of urban renewal by a Corvallis business owner...[Learn More]
The success of the urban renewal development plan is largely dependent upon Evanite property to eventually produce large sums of property tax revenue. But, this may not happen... [Learn More]
NO PATH! The offer of land for a path has been withdrawn by Evanite. For the foreseeable future, a path along the river between downtown, along Evanite property to Willamette Park, is off the table. Other sites are under consideration to better serve commuters. [Learn More]
The Plan hurts our city and county. It diverts funding from city and county services, including fire, police, library, and health departments for an unknown length of time. [Learn More]
Do we need urban renewal? There are many important questions to ask about the proposed urban renewal district. You won’t like the answers! [Learn More]
The public is uninformed about urban renewal plan— downtown residential, business and Evanite industrial property owners to, in effect, pay their property taxes to themselves... [Learn More]
We recently discussed the Evanite’s Toxic Waste (TCE) Clean Up with the Department of Environmental Quality. Please read Evanite’s fiberglass air emissions and Evanite’s toxic waste (TCE) clean up mandate. Also find a map of Evanite’s Toxic TCE Plume, which will give you a graphic view of this toxic area.
The public needs to understand more about the Evanite toxic waste problem before voting May 19th. This problem could lead to a setback for the financial purpose of the URD ... Discussion about this issue appears on our website...
Weaknesses and Risks of the Plan (cont)
Don’t mortgage your future; reject URD [Learn More]
City’s URD proposal paints unwanted picture of our future—Examine the toxic TCE map and explanation...
Approving urban renewal district would lead to raiding school fund... Learn More
Consider Urban Renewal District In The Long Term—money will be diverted away from financing general government to financing the renewal district over a 20-year period, which may well result in local governments raising taxes to make up for this lost revenue.
Urban renewal districts in other cities have cost the Corvallis School District over nine teachers so far. [Learn More]
Downtown doesn’t merit additional tax revenue—downtown commercial district is not the lifeblood, heart or any other essential organ of Corvallis as its proponents claim. [Learn More]
Community groups are currently hearing a sales pitch to vote for an “urban renewal district in downtown Corvallis.” The map of such a proposal is neither “downtown” nor urban. [Learn More]
Renewal district too high on beautification—One bad feature of the proposed Corvallis urban renewal district is that it turns the city and county spending priorities upside-down. [Learn More]
Riverfront Park argues against urban renewal—Contrary to what urban renewal proponents say, the success of the riverfront park provides many reasons to OPPOSE urban renewal. [Learn More]
Urban renewal tax increment financing may not be realized—Cost-effective redevelopment of Evanite cannot happen until clean-up of toxic trichloroethylene (TCE) in the soil and groundwater is completed.
For more info about Weaknesses and Risks of the Plan [Go to Essential Documents]
Blog Summary Widget
The sponsors of measure 02-68 are quick to say that there are many ongoing, successful urban renewal programs in Oregon. The proponents didn’t mention the failures in Portland and Eugene URD (AND NOW ALBANY—the $900,000 loan failure). That would cast a dark shadow on their marketing game. The folks in Portland and Eugene are steaming mad that they have been led astray—and, it can happen anywhere—nobody’s immune...