Board amends proposed ordinance to let district set incentive-grant policy, avoids fixed cap
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Summary
The Downtown Improvement District voted to amend a proposed ordinance so that incentive programs for commercial property improvements will be administered under a written policy approved by the district board rather than by a fixed dollar amount in the ordinance.
The Downtown Improvement District on Tuesday voted to amend a proposed ordinance so the document will not set a fixed dollar amount or percentage for commercial incentive grants. Instead, the board approved language that will allow incentive programs to be administered under a written policy the board adopts.
Why it matters: staff and the city attorney advised that embedding a fixed dollar amount in the ordinance would require a public hearing and ordinance amendment any time the board wanted to change the cap. By creating an administrative policy, the board can set annual program caps, per-application limits, or match percentages without returning to the city commission to amend the ordinance.
What the board did: a motion to change the ordinance text and to direct staff to develop a written policy was moved, seconded and approved. Staff will advertise the ordinance change and seek first reading at the City Commission meeting tentatively scheduled for Dec. 1.
What happens next: the board directed staff to prepare a draft policy and to schedule a workshop to develop the program details before any grant funds are disbursed.