Council approves $6.1 million increase to Columbia Gateway urban renewal spending authority

The Dalles City Council unanimously approved a substantial amendment to the Columbia Gateway Urban Renewal Plan (ordinance 24-1409), voting to increase the plan’s maximum indebtedness by $6,100,000 to a total $35,000,000 in spending authority.

City economic development officer Dan Spotts told the council the amendment would not create new debt or raise property tax rates but would extend the period during which tax increment revenues (TIF) are allocated to the urban renewal agency to finish identified projects. “There’s no new debt and there is no tax increase,” Spotts said during the staff presentation.

Consultant Elaine Howard explained the amendment’s mechanics and the types of projects the agency expects to advance, including Basalt Commons, acquisition and rehabilitation of the Tony’s Town and Country site, First Street reconstruction, and Federal Street Plaza work. Howard said the amendment’s fiscal effects would begin in fiscal year end 2026 and showed the incremental impact on taxing jurisdictions; she characterized the amendment’s incremental impact on general government taxing districts as roughly $1,000,000 (spread across years) and said education impacts are substantially backfilled by the state.

Supporters from the public and local business community urged the council to approve the amendment. “Urban renewal has gotten great things in The Dalles,” testified Chris Zukin, citing historic rehabilitation projects including the Granada and the Commodore. Small-business and property owners described planned renovations—such as upper‑story housing at the Sigmund’s/Oak Hotel—and said the continued availability of urban renewal grant programs is critical to those projects.

Councilors questioned the plan’s sunset and statutory limits. Staff and the city attorney confirmed that under current Oregon law the council may request only one substantial amendment of this type given the plan’s prior 2009 amendment; staff also advised the council it could include local language in the ordinance making this the final increase as a political or policy commitment, but noted that state statute—not local language—ultimately constrains the legal ability to extend the district past statutory triggers.

Spotts outlined next steps if the ordinance passed: a 30‑day referendum period during which a petition of 10% of the city population could require a vote, then a December 17 urban renewal board meeting to prioritize and budget projects if the council’s approval stands. The ordinance was adopted by a unanimous voice vote.

The council closed the public hearing and adopted the ordinance 24-1409 on a unanimous vote; council members said they expect the amendment to enable completion of long‑deferred projects and to leverage other state and federal grants to maximize local impact.