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In 2005, the topic of tax increment financing emerged on more than a few municipal agendas in the city of Liberty Lake.
Steve Peterson, mayor of Liberty Lake at the time, described how TIF funds – generated by an increase in property tax – could be utilized to support an array of projects, including road construction and improvements to civic staples like parks and stormwater systems. The infrastructure upgrades, Peterson said, would also be a boon to economic development by bringing more retail operations into the community.
Meanwhile, representatives from the development community described how Washington had fallen behind Idaho in its incorporation of TIF as a catalyst for construction. Jason Wheaton, president of Greenstone Homes, told the Liberty Lake City Council in December 2005 that instituting TIF would provide developers with “competitive land prices and certainty of quality infrastructure” and encouraged city leaders to “set the standards for the region.”
By the end of December, Liberty Lake had joined the Spokane County Library District and Spokane Fire District 1 in favor of implementing a TIF district. While developers applauded the decision, the details of how to distribute and prioritize TIF revenue would still need to be worked out with municipalities when it came time to launch a new building project.
Earlier this month, the finer points of the TIF debate took front and center at a meeting of the Liberty Lake City Council. Council Member Patrick Jenkins provided attendees at the Feb. 19 gathering with a comprehensive presentation of recommendations made by the city’s Community Development Committee to developers requesting TIF reimbursements for the first phase of a project on the north side of Liberty Lake.
While extolling the advantages of retail development that would generate sales tax to pay for services within the community, Jenkins described how the city continues to seek a balance between the three basic ingredients of civic planning – namely residential, commercial and open space.
Developers have already outlined their top priorities for TIF-supported improvements in phase one of construction. They include projects tied to roads and storm drainage, water and sanitary sewer systems, parks and recreation and public transit. The projected cost for the upgrades is just over $4.8 million.
The city, meanwhile, has answered with some priorities of its own. Utilizing a set of criteria that focuses on how infrastructure renovation will boost sales tax, benefit the greater community, fit into the city’s development plan and align with traditional tax financing, Jenkins outlined a list of five focal points that varied slightly from the developers’ agenda.
At the top of the city’s list is an interchange study that will determine the flow of traffic along Interstate 90 around Liberty Lake and into North Idaho. The Federal Highways Association and the Washington Department of Transportation are overseeing the study which typically takes up to a year to review and another year to complete.
Greenstone Inc. is currently interviewing transportation consultants to work on the study expected to cost around $500,000. A similar document is also being prepared by a group in Idaho. Jenkins said Greenstone is preparing to start infrastructure construction on the North side project in about six weeks.
The city moved the pedestrian bridge and a west river park from its list of top five priorities, adding instead a baseball/sports complex and shifting the focus of roads to address retail traffic. Jenkins emphasized that the city is still mindful of the bridge and park – as well as public transit, other roads and a ravine park – in the overall development picture.
Council Member Neal Olander, who serves on the Community Development Committee with Jenkins and Council Member Odin Langford, said the issue is not whether infrastructure improvements will be made – but who will cover the costs.
”All of these projects will be built,” he said. “The question is who will pay for them – the taxpayer, the developer or both?”
Doug Smith, Liberty Lake’s community development director, said the city’s proposal “represents a compromise” to the issues raised by the developers. A resolution on the phase one recommendations is expected to be presented before City Council next month. If passed, the resolution would be forwarded to Spokane County commissioners for approval.
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By
Craig Howard
