City Commissioners Approve Two-Way Streets, TIF Ballot Language

Traverse City commissioners voted 4-3 Monday to make the two-way traffic pattern on State Street, Pine Street, and Boardman Avenue permanent. Commissioners also unanimously voted to approve the ballot language for a TIF plan that will head to voters this fall.

Mayor Amy Shamroe and Commissioners Heather Shaw, Laura Ness, and Lance Boehmer provided the majority support needed to make two-way traffic flow on State, Pine, and Boardman permanent. Commissioners Jackie Anderson, Mitch Treadwell, and Ken Funk were opposed, citing concerns ranging from a lack of satisfactory data collected in the pilot project to an undefined timeline for making improvements to the affected streets that would improve the two-way flow.

Shamroe noted that "it realistically will take some time" to make those improvements, which could range from modernizing traffic signals at key intersections to extending two-way operations on Front Street between Pine and Union and Park and Boardman to help with circulation. However, the city can't invest in those improvements until the decision has been made to make the two-way pattern permanent, Shamroe said. 

Commissioners Monday also approved the ballot language for a proposed new TIF plan called the  Infrastructure First TIF Plan, which was recently approved by the TC Downtown Development Authority board and would replace the expiring TIF 97 plan. Under the city charter, any new TIF plans must go to voters for approval. Commissioners are required to place the proposals on the ballot, but initially delayed approving the language due to concerns over wording in certain sections.

One of those was about how the tax capture projections in the proposal should be calculated. TIF districts work by capturing taxes on rising property values on properties just within their boundaries, with those revenues then going to public improvement projects. The capture projections are only estimates, as it’s impossible to accurately predict how property taxes might vary over two decades. 

However, after several commissioners felt estimates were too low at a projected 2.4 percent annual growth rate, the ballot language was adjusted to reflect a 7 percent annual increase. That depicts the “most robust assumptions for future growth and increases the capture, which should avoid any criticism of underestimating the TIF’s potential future capture,” according to the city's legal counsel Dan Kelly.

Commissioners also initially struggled with how to word a new element of hthis TIF plan, which is a 70-30 split on revenues between the DDA and other local taxing jurisdictions like the city, Grand Traverse County, BATA, and NMC. In the ballot language approved Monday, the reference to that split has been removed entirely. The projected capture of nearly $140 million over the lifetime of the TIF plan reflects the fact the DDA will only be receiving 70 percent, however. Any city or county voter-approved special millage approved since January 1, 2023, would be exempt from the TIF capture.

The proposal will appear on the November 3 ballot. In a statement after the commission vote, DDA Executive Director Harry Burkholder said the plan "represents a balanced approach. It continues investing in the infrastructure and services that residents and visitors rely on every day while returning a greater share of tax revenues to the city and county than under the current plan. Ultimately, this decision belongs to the voters, and we're committed to providing factual information so they can make an informed choice for our community and the future of downtown."