Cities rush plans as moratorium of one year looms on RDA funds

With a one-year moratorium on retail RDAs looming, several Utah cities are rushing to squeeze in plans for redevelopment.

The yearlong hold on using RDA dollars for retail projects is part of a bill that will likely get a final vote from the Legislature early next week. If passed, Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, said all RDAs not already under way by Feb. 15 will be stalled or even nullified.

But some cities like Holladay are hoping to get RDA plans in under the wire to avoid the yearlong suspension. Holladay officials voted this week to begin a blight study around the Cottonwood Mall, even though they are more than a week past the cutoff date.

"The sense is that the law may change and the interest is to move forward to preserve as much flexibility as possible," said City Councilman Lynn Pace.

Holladay City Manager Randy Fitts, however, said he's uncertain whether the city's attempt to avoid the bill's restrictions will be successful. If not, he said the city will likely have to endure the year wait for retail RDAs.

"Since things are a little bit tight, we thought we should at least get it on the record," Fitts said. "If this falls within the parameter of a good redevelopment, I hope they would look favorably on it."

At the same time, the Taylorsville City Council on Wednesday authorized four blight study areas for possible RDA work, but Mayor Janice Auger emphasized that while the timing of the vote may have been prompted by Bramble's bill, the studies were not.

"We didn't say, 'Hey, there's this legislation. Let's see if we can come up with a project,' " Auger said. "We said, 'This project we've been talking about since the summer won't happen if we don't act now.' I don't think that's sneaky. I think that's smart."

Auger said the council has been discussing the possibility of doing RDA studies in the four areas — two near 2700 West and 4700 South, one at 4015 West and 5400 South and one at 4800 South and Redwood Road — for several months. She said the council has been "going slow and carefully" because any RDA that comes from these studies would be the city's first.

"If there have been abuses under the current RDA law, they didn't happen here," she said.

Without Bramble's bill, Auger said the council would have liked another month or two to prepare before authorizing the studies, but "didn't have that option when this legislation appeared."

Auger added the city has no intention of carrying out all four studies or creating four RDA areas, and that Wednesday's authorizations were only to leave the city's options open. And no studies will be done unless Bramble's proposal deadline changes or the legislation fails, she said.

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