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Idaho Falls redevelopment agency finds Riverwalk area eligible for urban renewal, sends report to city council
Summary
The Idaho Falls Redevelopment Agency voted to accept a consultant's eligibility study finding the Riverwalk area meets multiple urban renewal criteria and approved Resolution No. 2025-07 to transmit the study to the City Council for consideration.
The Idaho Falls Redevelopment Agency on June 18 accepted an eligibility study and approved Resolution No. 2025-07 finding a proposed Riverwalk area eligible to be designated an urban renewal and revenue allocation area, and directed staff to transmit the report to the City Council for its consideration.
Consultant Brad Kramer told the board the study considered 15 statutory criteria and concluded the study area met six of them. "The purpose of this report is to determine whether or not the study area is eligible to become an urban renewal area and grow into the allocation area," Kramer said. He identified unsuitable topography (shallow basalt requiring blasting) as the primary qualifying condition, and cited unsafe conditions (open pits that attract vehicle traffic) and economic underdevelopment related to rock and construction challenges.
Megan (staff counsel) read Resolution No. 2025-07 by title to the board before the vote. The agency's finance analysis also checked the statutory 10% assessed-valuation limit on urban renewal districts and found the city's combined districts and pending areas amount to about 1.46% of total valuation, well under the statutory limit, Kramer said.
The board voted to pass the resolution by voice vote; the matter now goes to the Idaho Falls City Council, which the agency will ask to confirm eligibility before work begins on a formal urban renewal plan and any tax-increment financing arrangements. Kramer noted that eligibility does not obligate the agency or the city to adopt a plan: it only establishes whether the area can be considered for urban renewal.
The consultant presented mapping and photos showing three sub-sites within the study area and described the sites as mixed-use land in the Taylor Crossing area, with some gaps in pedestrian connections and shallow rock outcrops that raise development costs. Kramer recommended boundaries that concentrate on parcels likely to see development in the next three years and cautioned that the study area can be adjusted later when drafting a plan.
The resolution was approved by voice vote. The agency will forward the report and resolution to the City Council and seek further direction.
