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Garden City adopts South of Chinden urban renewal plan, freezes tax base retroactive to Jan. 1, 2025
Summary
The Garden City Council adopted an ordinance creating a ~293-acre South of Chinden revenue allocation area, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2025, to fund water, sewer and other public infrastructure; projected increment revenue over the district life was presented at about $24.5 million. Council voted to approve the plan after a brief public comment and legal recommendation to suspend rules and adopt tonight.
Garden City Council voted to adopt an urban renewal plan for the South of Chinden area and to establish a revenue allocation area retroactive to Jan. 1, 2025.
Megan Conrad, an attorney representing the agency, told the council the proposed district covers roughly 293 acres south and central in the city, bounded generally between the Glenwood‑Chinden intersection on the west and I‑84 on the east. She said the plan would freeze the district's base value as of Jan. 1, 2025, and that the agency could capture a portion of future incremental property tax growth within the district to finance public infrastructure projects.
Conrad said the plan lists projects and required statutory elements and pointed council members to Attachment 5, the economic‑feasibility study. "Attachment 5 is the economic feasibility study," she said, describing assumptions including about 500,000 square feet of new construction over 20 years at $200 per square foot and escalation assumptions for land and improvements. Under those assumptions, she said the plan was projected to generate roughly $24,500,000 over the life of the district, with administrative costs estimated at about 10 percent and a cap of $75,000 per year.
City legal counsel recommended a first reading and then to "suspend the rules and adopt and publish tonight" because the matter was time‑sensitive. Mr. Wadhams, offering the legal briefing, told council members his memo found the plan "in order" and confirmed no intergovernmental agreement was necessary after county parcels were removed from the district.
During the public hearing, resident Hannibal of Garden City testified in support but urged the Urban Renewal Agency to be more approachable to public‑initiated projects, citing a previously denied sidewalk connection he said was in the public right‑of‑way.
Council moved to approve CPA FY2025 (CPA 2025‑0003) and to proceed with ordinance 10‑62‑25, read the ordinance by title, and then vote to suspend the rules and adopt. Roll call votes were recorded and the motions carried.
Why it matters: the ordinance establishes a 20‑year statutory term for the district (termination in 2045, final revenue year 2046) and directs increment revenue toward infrastructure projects called out in the plan—chiefly water and sewer improvements, with additional projects such as stormwater management, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, park acquisition and utility upgrades. The plan also excludes revenue from certain voter‑approved levies (fire and ambulance) in the consultant's revenue projection because, as presented, those overlapping districts did not consent to inclusion under recent statutory changes.
The council's action makes the ordinance effective on the schedule set in the ordinance summary and triggers several post‑adoption tasks required for the plan's retroactivity, including publication of the summary and transmittal to county and state officials.
Next steps: the ordinance summary must be published and the city must complete required transmittals and recordings so the January 1, 2025 retroactive date will be effective.
