Practically Speaking w/ Julie Rubenstein
Julie Rubenstein
THE GRANTS PASS “DOWNTOWN RIVER DISTRICT”: Private Scheme or Public Vision?
Long a victim of benign neglect, the downtown section of blocks below “K” Street has developed in a haphazard fashion that nobody particularly likes. It has a blighted look about it that stands in stark contrast to the solid, historic feel of the businesses in the historic district further to the north. Then along comes unofficial town patriarch Brady Adams with a visionary proposal to create a thematically unified district that celebrates and revives awareness of how the Rogue River influences life in Grants Pass.
The Downtown River District would involve cooperation between the City and private landowners to develop property with certain design standards in order to give a unified look and feel to the neighborhood (think peeled pine logs and river rock walls a la the Lodge at Riverside and Hellgate Excursions building). A citizens advisory committee spent over a year examining Adams’ proposal and weighing various competing interests such as resident displacements versus increased visitor-serving uses. It has recommended to the City that a Downtown River District go forward, taking into account all of its findings. Some City investment in compatible public infrastructure - street lighting, parking and the like - would be required under this plan.
I’ve heard a lot of grousing from some downtown merchants and other citizens that this scheme is an attempt to extract public dollars for the private gain of property owners along lower Sixth and Seventh Streets. Their suspicion is fueled by the fact that Evergreen Federal Bank owns much of the riverfront property in question, and that Robert Hamlyn, another significant owner of lots in the area, is also standing by to scoop up big profits from creation of the new neighborhood. (Hamlyn is considering a hotel/convention center project on the south bank next to Sixth Street that now holds Southern Oregon’s most lucratively situated riverfront trailer park.)
Critics have urged the Grants Pass City Council to put the Downtown River District proposal to the voters, saying there wasn’t enough public participation in the advisory committee’s deliberations and that citizens should decide whether they want their city tax dollars spent on what could become a twenty-year project. As I understand it, no new taxes would be involved. Under the scenario favored by the advisory committee, some zoning changes would be needed and it would also create a new tax increment financing district, which basically recycles property taxes paid by affected landowners to finance area-specific improvements.
Frankly, I don’t see any good reason why the proposal should go before voters. Participation on the committee was open to anyone. They and the City have held numerous public workshops to introduce the concept, take comments and answer questions. Everybody who has more than a passing interest in this project has had ample time to participate. The average voter may not even understand tax increment financing, much less comprehend why they are being asked to study the question and make a decision. That’s why we have legislative bodies - they do the long, boring slog through planning issues that most of us won’t bother with. More than likely, a proposal would be shot down because voters would pick out the one key word - “tax” - and say no, rather than reading through pages of confusing paragraphs.
As to the other question - whether this is actually a scheme for private gain by interested landowners - well, maybe it is. Brady Adams believes that all of his public-private works - bears, eagles, or affordable housing projects - stand to make money for his bank and that is one of the reasons he does them. He’s canny like a fox. But the Downtown River District promises a wonderful transformation for a blighted area, something we will all benefit from, and Evergreen does have the capital and other resources to drive the development forward - it’s already happening on their property next to the bank.
In Adams’ absence, would the City have come up with this plan on its own? Maybe, but likely not. Moreover, it is private development that will actually cause the transformation, and private landowners will always have their pocketbooks at heart. This is a rare opportunity to gain something truly great for Grants Pass, and personally I don’t mind if some people will gain from it more than others. The enhancements envisioned will cause all boats to rise with it.
