U.S. 2 boulevard idea floated

Getting people to turn off U.S. 2 onto Nucleus Avenue is a key goal in the city’s proposed urban renewal plan — even if that means narrowing U.S. 2 from five lanes to two with a boulevard from 12th Avenue to Nucleus.

That idea and others cropped up during a special meeting on the urban renewal plan and its associated tax-increment financing (TIF) district held by the Columbia Falls City-County Planning Board on March 19.

City manager Susan Nicosia said the idea of installing a boulevard down the center of U.S. 2 is not new, but she expects it will encounter resistance from the Montana Department of Transportation.

“MDT’s goal is to get vehicles through town,” she said. “U.S. 2 cuts the city in half.”

Janet Cornish, a planning consultant hired by the city to help develop and implement the urban renewal plan and TIF district, said she agreed with the idea of changing traffic patterns on U.S. 2.

“Especially with a lane that encourages people to turn onto Nucleus,” she said.

Planning board member Lee Schlesinger asked if narrowing U.S. 2 might cause more congestion, especially during the busy tourist season.

“We want people to slow down here,” Nicosia said. “We want people to drive through Columbia Falls in big numbers.”

Board member Sue Haverfield asked if the city might need a bypass to get trucks around the Nucleus business district.

“We already have Truck Route,” Nicosia said. “But we need a traffic light on U.S. 2 at Truck Route so truckers will more easily find it.”

The city intends to utilize tax-increment financing along with other funding to pay for revitalization efforts in the urban renewal plan, using 2015 as the base year.

Any tax revenue created by an increase in taxable value for property inside the urban renewal area after 2015 would go into the TIF fund, instead of the general fund, and be used for revitalization efforts.

The urban renewal area generally runs along Nucleus Avenue and the U.S. 2 strip. Cornish estimates that $1 million in new taxable value will provide about $15,000 to $20,000 in the TIF fund.

Board member Mike Shepard pointed out that the TIF fund would be well funded by now if it had been created before the Super 1 Foods store, the Xanterra Parks & Recreation facilities and the two auto parts stores were all completed.

Schlesinger noted that property owners on U.S. 2 might not be happy if the TIF fund grows as a result of new development on U.S. 2 but the TIF money is used to help the Nucleus Avenue area. Cornish agreed.

“It will be up to the city council to work that out,” she said.

The planning board unanimously approved a seven-page recommendation for the urban renewal plan that stated the plan conformed with the city’s growth policy and zoning. Board members Steve Hughes and Courtney Nolan were absent.

Next steps include finalizing a legal description and map of the urban renewal plan area, including any possible annexations, notifying all property owners in the area, and then holding a public hearing before the city council. A first reading for an ordinance establishing the plan and TIF district could be in June.