Measure 20-131: Yes.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Springfield's proposed urban renewal district on the Nov. 6 ballot won't revitalize the city's blighted downtown on its own. The estimated $43 million it would generate over the next 19 years is a tea cup compared to the gallons needed to fill the downtown's development bucket.

But the district could provide the catalyst for a desperately needed infusion of new development, without which Springfield's downtown will continue to drift in a sideways economic funk for decades.

Unlike a city of Eugene ballot measure that proposes extending the life of an existing downtown urban renewal district and that has generated intense debate, Springfield's proposal has sparked little opposition. In fact, the only two people actively campaigning against the proposal - veteran political gadflies Fred Simmons and Curtis Greer - also happen to be the only two people who showed up to testify against it at a planning commission hearing.

That doesn't guarantee Measure 20-131 will pass by the same overwhelming margin that Springfield voters supported the formation of an urban renewal district in Glenwood three years ago. But it suggests that many city residents recognize the need to improve a downtown that has been on life support for far too long. They also recognize the need to set in motion the forces necessary to change the current mix of downtown businesses, which includes a seamy assortment of strip joints and shot-and-a-beer bars.

Here's how Springfield's downtown urban renewal district would work:

The district would extend from the Willamette River east to 23rd Street, encompassing the downtown core and a swath of southwest Springfield. Property taxes would be frozen at existing levels on property in the district, which has an aggregate assessed value of $122.5 million, or 3.8 percent of the city's total assessed value. Over the next 19 years, any property tax increases above that level would flow into a special fund to be tapped for improvements within the district.

Springfield's proposed district stands out for its unusual size. At 460 acres, it includes areas not usually regarded as part of the city's downtown, including industrial portions of southeast Springfield. (In contrast, Eugene's urban renewal proposal would apply to only 70 acres of the city's downtown.)

The reason for the district's unusual size is simple: It needs to be that large to generate the critical mass of property tax revenues needed to make improvements in the southwestern portion of the district that is generally regarded as the city's downtown.

City officials have prepared an extensive list of projects they hope to complete over the life of the district. They include major street and sewer improvements, a new library building and parking structure, parks and bike corridors, a new fire station, redevelopment of existing properties, historic preservation and more.

It's an impressive list. But it's also one that may be overly optimistic, given the well documented ability of a single downtown public project to devour unexpectedly large amounts of money.

Still, Springfield officials have a better record than most cities ofspending public dollarsprudently, and the city plans a judicious seeding rather than wholesale funding of renewal projects.

Three years ago, city voters wisely recognized the need to create the renewal district necessary to begin redeveloping Glenwood. Now, the time has come to ramp up the city's efforts to revitalize downtown.

Springfield voters should approve Measure 20-131.