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Pella council discusses Ley urban renewal amendment to fund eastern-side road and industrial projects
Summary
City staff outlined a Ley urban renewal plan amendment to add Baseline Drive and University Street extensions, an Oscaloosa Street reconstruction and a new industrial park to the plan, estimating roughly $6.3 million in costs and signaling a potential mid-February formal consideration and coordination with county officials.
Pella city staff presented a proposed amendment to the Ley urban renewal plan on Jan. 6, explaining it would add parcels and projects on the city’s eastern edge to the plan to make them eligible for tax increment financing.
Mike (city staff) told the council the original Ley plan, adopted in 2019 to support the Ley corporate headquarters, was written to encourage commercial and industrial development. The amendment would add a green area that includes an extension of Baseline Drive north to a new University Street intersection, a University Street extension between 240th and 250th avenues, and a reconstruction of the eastern portion of Oscaloosa Street (from Southeast Sixth Street to roughly 250 feet past the Pelican Christian entrance). Staff said the combined construction cost for the University Street and Baseline Drive projects is currently estimated at about $5.6 million, with a total figure near $6.3 million once prior engineering and right-of-way costs are included.
Staff said the amendment would also include renovation work on 240th Avenue and a portion of Eagle Lane and would add vacant lots in a proposed industrial park on the eastern side of the community as eligible for urban renewal funding.
"We believe each one of those projects could stimulate additional commercial [and] industrial growth on the eastern side of our community," Mike said, adding that including the projects in the Ley urban renewal plan would make them eligible to receive TIF revenue if council later chooses to dedicate funds.
Councilmembers asked whether the city could draw a larger boundary now to avoid repeated amendments. Mike said Iowa urban renewal law complicates mixing residential with commercial/industrial parcels and cautioned that including parcels requires taking entire tax parcels; staff recommended starting with parcels that clearly appear commercial or industrial and adding residential areas through a separate urban renewal plan in the future if needed.
Council members also raised annexation and intercounty issues: parts of the proposed green area (including lower portions of the Pella Sports Park and sections of University Street) may lie outside city limits and within Marion County. Staff said legal counsel was reviewing whether a county agreement similar to the 2019 arrangement would be required and that the city could annex parcels as appropriate. Mike said if council wanted to move quickly—bids for the street work could be ready this spring—the amendment and related legal questions would need answers ahead of a likely February formal consideration.
Why it matters: staff framed the amendment as a planning tool to make key road and utility improvements eligible for financing that, if built, could spur private commercial or industrial development on Pella’s eastern edge. Council discussion focused on limiting the amendment to parcels clearly suited to nonresidential uses, preserving flexibility to add acreage later, and coordinating annexation and county approvals.
Next steps: staff said legal counsel would advise whether Marion County supervisors must sign an amendment agreement and that formal council consideration could occur in mid-February if the council directs staff to proceed.
