Grants Pass City Council on Monday approved first reading of an ordinance to vacate the common property lines among four tax lots downtown so the library district can consolidate the parcels and build a new main branch.

Bradley Clark of the city's Community Development Department said the site sits between J and K streets (6th and 7th) and covers 12 underlying platted lots beneath four tax-lot parcels. The library district has acquired the property and proposed a roughly 23,000-square-foot facility with a plaza fronting 6th Street and about 45 parking spaces accessed from 7th Street. Clark told council staff reviewed the legal criteria for property-line vacations and found the application complies.

Public commenters supported the project. "A library is worth its knowledge," said Bridal Brown, a Grants Pass resident. Another resident, Rebecca Weber, said a downtown-facing library can draw people to the core and presents the city well.

Council discussion focused on economic trade-offs. Several councilors asked whether the library district's tax-exempt status removes property-tax revenue from the city and whether the project's theoretical economic benefits outweigh the loss of four existing private businesses. Clark said private businesses on those lots currently contribute to the tax base and that an investment of several million dollars in downtown construction can create jobs and ancillary economic activity. He also noted that any displacement mitigation tied to urban-renewal funds would arise only if the city elected to use URA funding for the project.

Councilor Indra moved to approve the ordinance vacating the lot lines (map 36-05-18-DD) on first reading; the motion carried but the council did not reach unanimous consent for a second reading, so the ordinance title was read and the item will return for final action at a subsequent meeting.