> `
> News article from The (Portland) Oregonian - August 17, 2007
>
> No one mentioned it at the hearing Wednesday, but Holy Rosary Church
> near the Lloyd Center Mall was the largest opponent -- by far -- of a
> local improvement district to help pay for an eastside streetcar
> extension.
>
> Property owners in the district will pony up $15 million toward the $147
> million project if the Portland City Council approves the district next
> month, which appears likely.
>
> The city received formal objections, or "remonstrances," from property
> owners representing about $300,000 in assessments, or 2 percent of the
> $15 million bill.
>
> Many were industrial property owners who failed to see how the streetcar
> would benefit them. The largest of these was grain elevator operator
> Cargill, Inc., with an estimated assessment of $47,800.
>
> But the church, which owns 12 pieces of commercially zoned property in
> the district, faces a $125,621 bill for building the streetcar line.
>
> In objecting to the district, the church said the assessment was
> inequitable because it imposed an assessment on non-business property
> owners for the benefit of business owners.
>
> City officials responded that the assessment is based on the benefit the
> property derives from the streetcar, now and in the future -- not on
> benefits to any business currently operating on the property.
>
> Most property owners testified that they expected the streetcar to
> significantly boost their property values.
>
> The contribution by the property owners is considered one of the least
> controversial aspects of the plan to finance the streetcar line, which
> also includes $27 million in urban renewal money. The council is
> scheduled to vote on the LID formation and the urban renewal proposal
> Sept. 6.
>