Majority of properties in 4th Avenue study need work

A survey of 275 properties along 4th Avenue-16th Street proposed for a redevelopment area revealed that 86 percent were in need of rehabilitation, replacement or new development.

The survey results were presented Tuesday by consultant Dave Fackler to the Yuma City Council during its work session. He said only 14 percent of the properties meet current codes with little or no deferred maintenance, while 38 percent are deficient but rehabilitation is feasible.

In another 20 percent of the properties, rehabilitation is likely to exceed 50 percent of replacement costs, and 3 percent of the properties were rated substandard and should probably be torn down. Twenty-five percent of the properties were vacant, many of them owned by the city.

That means property conditions within the study area meet state statute requirements for creation of a redevelopment area, he noted.

The city is exploring extending the existing the North End Redevelopment Area to include the 4th Avenue corridor to the 16th Street intersection.

This would make available economic tools to promote new public and private investment in the area, such as potential state and federal grants, property tax abatements and public-private partnerships, Fackler said.

“There's an opportunity here to create some investment tools.”

However, cautioned Charles Flynn, who has overseen the ongoing North End redevelopment efforts for the past 12 years, several property owners have expressed concern it might result in additional taxation or regulations.

He said that isn't the case. The goal is simply to develop a community-based plan for the area and provide incentives to encourage private investment in combination with needed intersection improvements.

That's assurance that property owner Russell McCloud said he would like to see in writing when asked by the council for his input. He said he would like to see improvements to the area but is concerned that creating a redevelopment area might result in a new layer of regulations or aesthetic requirements.

It's well and good for the current council to say what its intentions are, he said, but a future council could interpret it differently.

City Administrator Greg Wilkinson noted that the discussion started after private property owners came to the city. “This really didn't come from the city.”

The proposal will come before the council again with a public hearing during Wednesday's 5:30 p.m. meeting at Yuma City Hall.

The council also will act on two related measures. It will be asked to approve a finding of necessity by a two-thirds majority vote to designate the study area as the Yuma North End-16th Street and 4th Avenue Redevelopment Area. In addition, the council will consider designating the combined area as a central business district, a measure that would pave the way for economic incentives.

Then begins the work of crafting a redevelopment plan with input from property owners, one that he hopes will spur the intersection improvements, Flynn said.

Joyce Lobeck can be reached at jlobeck@yumasun.com or 539-6853. Find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/YSJoyceLobeck or on Twitter at @YSJoyceLobeck.