Lakewood staff give primer on urban renewal areas, metro districts and TIF

City of Lakewood staff on April 21 gave a detailed, non-decisional briefing to the joint Lakewood City Council and Lakewood Reinvestment Authority (LRA) on urban renewal areas and metropolitan districts, explaining how each is created, how the two tools can be used together and the financing mechanisms commonly used for public infrastructure.

The presentation was led by Holly Bjorklund, the city’s chief financial officer and LRA treasurer, with detailed explanations from Nicole Stair, revenue manager, and Katie Feltas, acting economic development and LRA manager. Bjorklund opened the session as an education item and emphasized there was no decision on any specific project during the presentation.

The staff framed an urban renewal area (URA) as “a designated blighted area which a city has targeted for redevelopment,” and said its purpose is to “improve health and safety, and restore economic and community vitality.” Katie Feltas told the board URAs rely on statutory definitions of blight and typically use tax increment financing (TIF) to fund public improvements. Nicole Stair explained TIF in plain terms: the city takes a snapshot of current tax revenue as a baseline, and…