Tax watchdogs in Idaho are challenging the state's redevelopment agencies, and opened up the question: are they city departments, or not? And if they are, shouldn't their decisions follow the will of the voters?
"After beating back the City of Boise's plans for public financing of a police station and then a parking garage, watchdog blogger Dave Frazier and a loose-knit group of tax hawks across Idaho have set their sights on urban renewal.
If you ask any city official, they'll say that urban renewal is completely separate from city government. But a pair of lawsuits in Nampa and Rexburg argue that urban renewal agencies are a mere costume change in a phone booth from the cities they serve.
Their argument: If it looks like a city department, acts like a city department and quacks like a city department, it's probably a city department. They call the agencies "alter egos" of city government.
"By any construction and reasonable interpretation of the English language, the Nampa Urban Renewal Agency is governed by the city," Frazier wrote in court documents."
FULL STORY: Cities in Disguise
From Plan to Place: Providence’s Downtown Renaissance
Providence’s downtown is transforming from plan to place. Decades of strategic planning, zoning reforms, & investment are paying off, creating a more vibrant, walkable urban core. Here’s how thoughtful policy and design are shaping the city’s future.
Charlestown, Indiana Announces City Square Improvement Project
Charlestown, Indiana announces a City Square Improvement Project after its Redevelopment Commission acquires a vacant 20-year-old building in the Jennings Plaza downtown.
Looking Back on 60 Years of Land Development in the Twin Cities
In 1960, about 12 percent of the Twin Cities metro's land was already developed. By 2020, about 34 percent had been developed. Many factors influenced how the region has changed since 1960.
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.
Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.
Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.
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Balancing Bombs and Butterflies: How the National Guard Protects a Rare Species
The National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap uses GIS technology and land management strategies to balance military training with conservation efforts, ensuring the survival of the rare eastern regal fritillary butterfly.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service