UR Charter Memo ELAINE HOWARD
•••CONSULTING,LLC
MEMO
TO: Shelby Rihala, City of Tigard Legal Counsel
FROM: Elaine Howard
RE: Charter language review
DATE: February 8, 2023
The Tigard City Charter has provisions for the use of urban renewal that are among the
most restrictive in the State of Oregon. Virtually no changes can be made to the Tigard
Urban Renewal Plans unless they are approved by the Tigard voters. Any new urban
renewal plan in Tigard would also need to be approved by the Tigard voters.
Many factors change in an urban renewal area over the life of an urban renewal plan. Most
urban renewal plans in Oregon allow the flexibility to address the changes through Agency
or Council approved amendments to the urban renewal plan.
Approval of an amendment or a new plan by the voters is not a statutory requirement.
There are a handful of cities in Oregon: Gresham, Corvallis, Beaverton, Oregon City,
Estacada and Clackamas County, which also have the provision that an urban renewal plan
adoption or adoption of a substantial amendment must be approved by voters.
Table 1 - Comparison of charter language with other like sized cities
City Vote on new Vote on Vote on new Vote on bond
urban renewal substantial projects financing
plan amendment*
Tigard X X X
Gresham X X X X
Corvallis X X
Beaverton X X
Oregon City X X
Section 59 _
Clackamas X X
County
unincorporated
Measure 3-371
City of Estacada X
Measure 3-391
ELAINE HOWARD
•••CONSULTING,LLC
• However, other cities have different definitions of a substantial amendment and there is a
different statutory definition of substantial amendment.
Charter language for Tigard:
Section 45.
The voters of the City of Tigard, exercising their powers as the ultimate governing body of
the City as reserved to them by the ordinances of the City and by the Constitution and laws
of the State of Oregon, do hereby find and determine that there no longer exists a need for
an urban renewal agency in the City. Therefore, the Tigard Urban Renewal Agency, as
established or activated, by Ordinance No. 81-91, adopted in December, 1981, is
terminated. The facilities, files and personnel (if any) of the Tigard Urban Renewal Agency
shall be forthwith transferred to the City. The termination shall not affect any outstanding
legal actions, contracts or obligations of said agency, and the City shall be substituted for
said agency in respect thereto. If, at the time this section is adopted, termination of the
Tigard Urban Renewal Agency is legally prohibited by any mandatory provision of
controlling state law, the termination shall be postponed until such legal impediment has
been removed and shall then automatically become effective; and, in the interim pending
the effective date of such termination, the City shall not authorize, approve or assist in the
incurring of any new debt or obligation or in the performance of any portion of the urban
renewal plan.
Section 46.
Section 45 is and shall be deemed to be an ordinance of the City within the meaning of ORS
457.075. Therefore, Section 45 may be amended or repealed by non-emergency ordinance
adopted by the City Council. The City Council may in the future activate, create, reactivate
or recreate an urban renewal agency in the City in the manner provided for by law, subject
to the limitations of Sections 47 and 48 concerning the methods for financing the activities
of such an agency.
Section 47.
After November 6, 2013, the City shall not approve an urban renewal plan or an
amendment of an urban renewal plan that initiates the use of tax increment financing as a
permissible method of paying the debts and obligations of the agency unless, prior to the
activation and implementation of such tax increment financing, such method is approved
by the voters of the City at a regular or special City election held in May or November. The
City Center Urban Renewal Plan dated December 6, 2005, initiated the use of tax increment
financing and is deemed to be approved in its entirety for purposes of this Section 47.
(Measure 34-207, November 5, 2013, election).
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•••CONSULTING,LLC
Section 48.
Any urban renewal plan or amendment thereof hereafter proposed or adopted shall
require that the plan, including the method of financing same, shall be approved by the
voters at a regular or special City election in May or November, if such plan or amendment
permits the City or the Agency to impose additional property taxes on properties outside
the urban renewal area to pay the debts or obligations to be incurred in carrying out the
plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, separate approval at an election is not required for:
(1) Expenditures by the City, as distinguished from the urban renewal agency, which have
been duly identified and included in a duly adopted City budget; or
(2) Issuance of Bancroft bonds (ORS 223.205 to 223.295) in connection with assessments
for local improvement districts, if such issuance is otherwise authorized by law. (Measure
34-207, November 5, 2013, election)
As used in Sections 45, 46, 47 and 48:
(1) "City" means the City of Tigard, Washington County, Oregon.
(2) "Urban Renewal Agency" means an agency created or existing under ORS Ch. 457 as it
now exists or may hereafter be amended, or a similar agency with similar powers and
purposes created under any other provision of law.
(3) "Urban Renewal Plan" means a plan as defined in ORS 457.010 (11) as it now exists or
may hereafter be amended, or a similar plan adopted under any other provision of law.
(4) "Tax Increment Financing" means the method of financing described and referred to in
ORS 457.420 to 457.460, or a similar method of financing provided for under any other
provision of law.
Options for changes to the Tigard Charter:
Two options for potential changes to the Tigard charter are shown below. The first mirrors
the state statute. It removes the requirement to take decisions on urban renewal to a vote
of the voters. The statute does not require a vote of the voters. This change matches the
requirements of the statute.
The second potential option matches some of the requirements of a handful of cities in
Oregon. It leaves in the requirement to refer a new plan and a substantial amendment
involving an increase to the maximum indebtedness to the Tigard voters. However, it
removes the requirement to refer any other issues other than adoption of a new plan and
increase in the MI which is a substantial amendment to the Tigard voters.
lal ELAINE HOWARD
•••CONSULTING,LLC
The existing language is shown in italics. Deletions are shown in strikeout and insertions in
bold.
1. Option 1. Mirrors State Statute
Matches ORS 457 which does not require a vote of the citizens.
2. Option 2. Matches a handful of other liked-size cities:
A new urban renewal plan or substantial amendment that increase the maximum
indebtedness is referred to the Tigard voters.
Potential changes:
Table 2 - Comparison of Options
Option 1 Mirrors Option 2 Present
ORS 457 Referral for new plan Charter
or increase in MI
Plan approved by City Council YES NO No
Plan referred to voters NO YES YES
Substantial Amendment to YES YES NO
Increase acreage approved by
City Council
Substantial Amendment to NO NO YES
Increase acreage referred to
voters
Substantial Amendment to YES NO NO
Increase MI approved by City
Council
Substantial Amendment to NO YES YES
Increase MI referred to voters
ELAINE HOWARD
MMM CONSULTING,LLC
Attachment A
Charter language for Corvallis:
Section 57. Urban Renewal Plan. Any Urban Renewal Plan or amendment approved by the
City Council shall contain the following provisions:
1. Any collection or use of tax increment funds for any purpose whatsoever must be
approved in advance by a majority vote at a City election.
2. Any collection or use of tax increment funds shall be considered a Substantial Change in
the Plan.
[Charter amendment adopted at a primary election held May 21, 1991; and general
election November 7, 2006 (section renumbered).]
Charter language for Beaverton:
The council shall not approve any urban renewal plan unless approved by a majority vote
in the City of Beaverton at a general or primary election. Further, any urban renewal
agency board shall not be comprised exclusively of council members.
Charter language for Oregon City:
• Section 59 - Urban Renewal Agency.
The urban renewal agency of the city(the "Agency") shall not issue bonded indebtedness
after the effective date of this section unless the bonded indebtedness complies with the
restrictions of this section. The commission shall not approve any amendment to
an urban renewal plan after the effective date of this section unless the plan requires that
bonded indebtedness issued to carry out the plan be issued in compliance with the
restrictions of this section.
A. Bonded indebtedness issued by the Agency after the effective date of this section shall
either:
(i) Be approved by the voters of the city;
(ii) Be issued to refund lines of credit, bonds or other borrowings that were
executed before the effective date of this section; or,
(iii) Be issued to finance written commitments of the Agency that were entered into
before the effective date of this section.
B. Each urban renewal plan of the Agency that exists on the effective date of this section is
hereby amended to add the following provision: "No bonded indebtedness shall be issued
under this plan except in compliance with the requirements of the Charter of the City of
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•••CONSULTING,LLC
Oregon City. Any amendment of the preceding sentence must be approved by a non-
emergency ordinance of the city."
C. For purposes of this section "bonded indebtedness" has the meaning defined for that
term in ORS 310.140(3), as that section of the statutes exists on the date this section of the
charter is approved by the voters of the city. That statute defines "bonded indebtedness" to
mean "any formally executed written agreement representing a promise by a unit of
government to pay to another a specified sum of money, at a specified date or dates at
least one year in the future."
D. This section shall not limit the Agency's rights or obligations under any lines of credit,
bonds or other borrowings that were executed prior to the effective date of this section.
E. After June 30, 2016, the City of Oregon City, the Urban Renewal Agency of the City of
Oregon City, or any agency created in whole or in part by the city, whether acting alone or
in concert with other persons, entities or agencies:
(a) Shall not finance, or authorize the financing of, any urban renewal plan or
project, in whole or in part, with tax increment financing revenues.
(b) Shall not borrow or spend, or authorize the borrowing or spending of, money to
buy land or property for the purpose of urban renewal, or the development of
property not owned by the city.
(c) Shall use any and all existing tax increment revenues solely for the purpose of
retiring existing Urban Renewal Agency debt.
(Res. No. 12-27, adopted by voters at the City election held November 6, 2012; Charter Ord.
of 6-30-16; Res. No. 16-25, adopted by voters at the City election held November 8, 2016
which added part E. to Section 59. Clackamas County Court Case #16CV42887 declared that
part E. of Section 59 is unenforceable as preempted by state law)