DDA Updates: Downtown Projects, Rotary Square Use & TIF Implementation Policy

Traverse City Downtown Development Authority (DDA) board members Friday discussed several upcoming projects to improve mobility access downtown, a new policy regulating use of Rotary Square, and a tax increment financing (TIF) implementation policy headed to city commissioners for approval Monday.

Projects
Several projects aimed at improving mobility and pedestrian/cyclist access are in the pipeline downtown. DDA Executive Director Harry Burkholder said DDA and city staff are working with local groups to improve transitions from the TART Trail into downtown. One of those areas is Park Street, where signage and stencils/paint could help create a bike shift and better awareness for users crossing between the trail and downtown.

Another project will install a bike ramp leading down from the TART Trail onto the on-street bike lane at the intersection of East Front Street and Grandview Parkway.  The path currently “just kind of empties out into nothing,” Burkholder said, creating confusion. The improvements would be funded by DDA and/or city funding, with budget details still being finalized.

DDA board members reiterated their support Friday for installing a mid-block crosswalk on State Street – one of five that could eventually be built throughout the State Street corridor, mirroring the infrastructure of Front Street. Burkholder said the final design will be contingent on whether the two-way pilot project on State Street is made permanent or if the corridor reverts to one-way traffic. City commissioners are expected to decide that traffic pattern at the end of the year. Burkholder said the DDA continues to collect and analyze data in partnership with consulting firm Progressive Companies on the two-way pilot. One significant change was recently made in the study area at the intersection of Pine and Front streets to install a stop sign for eastbound traffic. Burkholder said cameras are monitoring traffic counts and adherence to the stop sign at the intersection, which appears to be working so far with no complaints, he said.

The DDA originally also intended to repair the mid-block crosswalk on Cass Street this year. However, city commissioners blocked that project at their August 4 meeting, declining to authorize the $98,000 in TIF 97 funds allocated for repairs. Some commissioners, such as Tim Werner, said they wanted to see the crosswalk redesigned with bumpouts that would narrow the crossing and increase the visibility of pedestrians. That change “took a reconstruction project to a major project, so in all likelihood this project would not be done this fiscal year,” Burkholder said Friday. The DDA will instead try to tackle other improvements on its to-do list – including reconstructing sidewalk at the intersection of Park/State and repairing the apron near the alley north of the Cass Street mid-block crosswalk – and move the crosswalk to next year. The city will be responsible for covering the extra funds associated with the expanded scope of work, Burkholder said.

Rotary Square Policy
DDA board members approved a new policy Friday regulating activities and events in Rotary Square at the corner of State and Union (pictured). No events can be held in or announced for the park going forward without a permit, with the exception of city-sponsored events. A fee of $250 per day will be charged to use Rotary Square, though that fee can be waived at the discretion of the executive director. Notably, events that charge admission will not be allowed in the park. Some elements of fundraising or selling, such as alcohol/food vending or fees for on-site activities (like carnival games), are allowed as long as they’re properly permitted and not the primary focus of the event.

“The main point we wanted to ensure in the policy is that events need to be open to the public, and they need to be free as well,” said DDA Deputy Director Lauren Bohac. “We really want to ensure it remains a public place that is open and available to everyone to use.”

DDA board members plan to discuss the policy again in September to decide whether language should be added limiting the number of times any particular group can reserve the park and how far in advance such reservations will be accepted. Bohac said the policy could be updated again in the future once the new design for Rotary Square – which is expected to be finalized this fall – is implemented and new amenities/activities are added to the park, which may need to be addressed in the rules.

TIF Implementation Policy
DDA board members Friday briefly discussed a new implementation policy for TIF charter amendments that could be approved by city commissioners Monday. Commissioners have discussed the policy multiple times this year, but disagreements over its language have led to repeated delays of its approval. The policy would help outline “a process for how TIF-related approvals are to be placed on the ballot,” City Attorney Laurent Trible-Laucht previously said, and ensure “that each proposal is handled in the same way regardless of the content of the request. The bottom line is that all such requests should be treated equally.”

The latest version of the draft states that if an entity is seeking to create, modify, amend, or extend a TIF plan, it will submit the proposal to the city clerk. The city commission will then take action to put it to voters at the next regular or special election. If it’s included in a regular election, there’s no cost to the entity, but if a special election is called, the entity will pay the extra costs to the city. If the TIF proposal is rejected by voters, it won’t be considered by city commissioners. There’s no limit to the number of times an entity can put a plan forward on the ballot – a previous point of debate among commissioners. If a TIF proposal is approved by voters, it must go to city commissioners for review at a regular meeting within 60 days.

Commissioners previously debated what language can be allowed to accompany a ballot proposal to describe a TIF plan to voters. Some commissioners wanted to see more rather than fewer details included to ensure voters understand a proposal, but Trible-Laucht has repeatedly warned that loose parameters around language can lead to subjective, persuasive, confusing, or misleading presentations of proposals to voters. The latest draft states that the requesting entity’s name, the boundaries of the TIF district, the total projected tax capture, and the years of the term will be included in the ballot language, along with a note that the TIF plan is available to view in its entirety online and at the city clerk’s office.

The DDA is awaiting the approval of the TIF implementation policy as it prepares to revisit the possibility of extending TIF 97, which expires in 2027. The proposed plan extension, called Moving Downtown Forward, has been on hold since last year’s election when voters updated the city’s charter to require TIF plans to go to a public vote. DDA board member Gary Howe expressed frustration Friday with the city commission’s delay in approving an implementation policy, calling the wait – now almost a year after the charter amendments were approved – “unacceptable.” Howe said there “should have been a policy within three months,” urging commissioners to “get a policy on the books.”

The DDA is expected to work with city staff and Future iQ – the consulting firm that helped the city create its recent strategic action plan – on aligning the strategic action plan and Moving Downtown Forward to ensure city and DDA priorities are mirrored in the documents.