Pocatello council adopts South 5th urban renewal plan, approves intergovernmental agreement with Bannock County

The Pocatello City Council on a recorded roll-call vote adopted the South 5th Avenue urban renewal plan and approved an intergovernmental agreement with Bannock County to manage parcels in the multi-jurisdictional project area.

Attorney Megan Conrad of Boise firm Elam & Burke, who presented the plan during the public hearing, described urban renewal agencies as "separate and distinct legal entities" operating under Idaho Code Title 50, chapters 20 and 29. She said the proposed South 5th project area is bisected by Interstate 15 and South 5th Avenue, bounded roughly by the Union Pacific tracks, Barton Road and the foothills of the Pocatello Range, and includes a mix of public, private and railroad-owned parcels.

Conrad told the council the plan is structured as a 20-year revenue allocation area (a 2025 plan that would terminate in 2045, with final year revenues in 2046) and that the economic feasibility study projects an undiscounted $52,400,000 in revenue available to finance public infrastructure. The study lists phased infrastructure projects, with sewer extensions identified as a high-priority Phase 1 item. "The project list, fiscal impact statement and the economic feasibility attachments are included in the plan materials," Conrad said, noting that the plan identifies projects, assumptions (including a 3.1% annual escalation) and the statutory 10% valuation limitation test required by Idaho law (referenced in the plan materials).

Council members asked for clarification about sewer work and county coordination. Brett McClain, identified in the record as executive director of the Pocatello Development Authority and planning director, confirmed that sewer extensions are critical to enabling the development the plan anticipates and said the county had signed a transfer-of-powers ordinance and intergovernmental agreement to allow the agency to manage parcels that currently lie outside the city's jurisdictional limits.

No taxing district resolutions from certain ambulance and fire districts had been received at the time of the hearing; Conrad stated that if those districts do not pass resolutions consenting to inclusion, their levies would not generate revenue for the allocation area. She cited Idaho Code provisions governing exceptions and revenue allocation rules as part of the plan presentation.

After hearing public comment and staff answers to questions, Council President Loehrick moved to adopt the resolution accepting the intergovernmental agreement and the plan; Council Member Cheatham seconded. The motion passed by roll call. The council also ordered the ordinance approving the plan to be read by title and placed on final passage, and the clerk read the ordinance summary before the council declared the final reading and recorded the vote.

What happens next: the ordinance and required transmittals will be sent to county and state officials and the affected taxing entities for administrative processing; implementation of individual projects will depend on project-level planning, funding availability and any required future agreements or procurements.