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Staff recommends updating Dillon Urban Renewal application, not full DURA rework
Summary
Staff told council the Dillon Urban Renewal (DURA) plan and application reference outdated 2007–2009 studies; staff proposed amending the application to cite more recent plans or append an updated list rather than undertaking immediate, costly statutory plan updates. Council discussed tax increment financing, referral requirements and permissible DURA incentives such as façade grants.
Staff presented an overview of Dillon’s Urban Renewal Authority (DURA) documents and the current application form, telling the council that the DURA application still references studies from 2007–2009 and a 2015 update. Staff recommended updating the application form or adding an appendix that points to more recent plans (for example, the 2020 marina master plan and newer parks master plans) rather than immediately redoing the full urban renewal reports that underpin tax increment financing (TIF).
Staff noted the statutory complexity around DURA: the tax-increment-financing period cited in the plan runs to 2037, and changes to some DURA findings or the statutory plan require referral and notice to affected taxing jurisdictions (for example the county and fire district). "There's a sunset on the TIF financing — that doesn't end DURA, but it does change the financing horizon," staff said.
Council discussed program design and constitutional limits on direct business subsidies. Staff advised that façade and storefront improvement grants administered through an urban renewal authority are commonly structured to meet public-benefit tests, while straight cash transfers to private businesses can be constitutionally risky. The council and staff discussed practical options including development agreements, lease-based arrangements and program design to achieve public outcomes such as improved signage or storefront activation.
No formal amendment to the DURA plan was proposed; staff said they would work with the town attorney and return with recommended wording changes to the application form and a plan for how DURA incentives (for example storefront improvement grants) could be structured.
