The Ames City Council will have a hearing to finalize the Downtown Reinvestment District Urban Renewal Area and Plan to qualify for up to $10 million in Reinvestment District Funds, during their biweekly meeting Tuesday.

To qualify for the funds, the City must designate an appropriate Urban Renewal area and plan. The hearing is part of a series of steps the City is in the process of taking to initiate the approval process.

The Urban Renewal Plan is designed to promote economic growth for the city of Ames through public and private activities. It identifies potential projects for redevelopment such as the construction of new public facilities, land acquisitions or renovating public infrastructure.

In February, the Council voted to create an Urban Renewal Area to have the same boundaries as the area included in the Iowa Reinvestment District Program Application. Under Urban Renewal Law chapter of the Code of Iowa, if the City has determined an area of the City to be “slum area” the land can appropriated to improve economic development. 

The Urban Renewal Area is approximately 75 acres of land and is located near downtown Ames. The two other required steps to approve the Plan include consultation with tax entities and a Planning and Zoning Commission review. In a 3-1 vote, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved to recommend the proposed plan be consistent with the City’s Land Use Policy Plan. 

Within the Downtown Reinvestment District Urban Renewal Plan is a proposed project to complete the Indoor Aquatic Center. The current Plan is estimated to cost $31,200,000, and the proposed bond is $21,200,00. It is expected the bond will be abated by the revenue from the Reinvestment District. To date, $9,470,000 in donations has been pledged to the project.

The Council will also set the public hearing date for Sept. 14 on the proposal to authorize the issuance of bonds. 

During Tuesday’s meeting, the Council will also hear a staff report on the indoor aquatic center, which includes a timeline for acquiring and developing the indoor aquatic center. 

The Council is also in the process of finalizing the Ames Plan 2040 and was asked to release a drafted comprehensive plan for public comment. The 2040 Plan evaluated and addressed where growth has occurred in housing, commercial and employment growth. 

There are six plan elements within the 2040 Plan’s vision: land use and growth, environment, mobility, parks, trails and greenway, neighborhoods and subareas, and community character. The draft received multiple updates to the background chapter, including language changes, additional remarks from the Mayor, adding a land recognition and corrections.

The City Council Staff supports accepting the current draft for purposes of starting the public comment period that will take place through September.

The Council will also vote on the appointment of the Climate Action Plan supplemental input committee members. The Committee will provide feedback during the development of the Climate Action Plan.