After more than an hour's worth of testimony Monday night surrounding a proposed urban renewal district in downtown Corvallis, the City Council opted to move deliberations on the matter to its Dec. 1 meeting.

Public comment questioned the planned district's impact on property taxes, whether the city would have the power to take property for its projects and whether the city might become overextended if property values don't rise and generate income for public projects in the zone.

The Council asked city staff members to return at the Dec 1 meeting with answers to those questions before deliberations.

A downtown Corvallis urban renewal zone, as planned, would stretch from Fillmore Avenue to Crystal Lake Drive, and from Sixth Street to the Willamette River.

Urban renewal creates money for public projects through a system called tax-increment financing. The system directs money to fund improvements with the hope of encouraging private investment there.

When a renewal zone is created, any increase in property value within the zone for a set number of years is taxed at the usual rate, but taxes generated from any increase in value are set aside for programs within the zone.

If the Council grants approval of the proposed district, it will send the matter to voters, probably in May.

- Matt Neznanski