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A new bill could affect the city of Boise's plans to create a special taxing district to help pay for the streetcar.
HB489, introduced Monday by House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, and Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Eagle, requires a vote of property owners within any city-initiated local improvement district before bonds of $250,000 or more can be issued.
Local improvement districts, or LIDs, are used by many Idaho towns to fund street, sidewalk, irrigation, sewer or other vital infrastructure projects.
Under current state law, just a majority vote of the city council is required to create a district.
Both Moyle and Labrador told the Idaho Statesman in November, when they were drafting the legislation, that they do not think an LID is appropriate for a streetcar.
The city of Boise is considering creating a local improvement district to raise $10 million to $15 million to help pay for the $60 million cost of the first phase of a streetcar system. The district would tax all private property owners within three blocks of the proposed 2.3-mile route, which runs along Idaho and Main streets between 1st and 15th streets.
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