Talks of a new urban renewal district on the south end of Moscow have rekindled after Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories announced last month it is purchasing more than 150 acres southwest of Moscow to accommodate the Pullman-based company’s future growth.

Moscow Urban Renewal Agency Executive Director Bill Belknap outlined a schedule to agency commissioners Thursday that would establish the proposed roughly 600-acre district next summer.

The agency first discussed the proposed district in 2017.

“It was paused for a little bit of time because we really were waiting for a project to act as a catalyst for the creation of the new district on the south end of Moscow,” Belknap said.

He said the city in 2009 recognized the need to identify an area in the community for future industrial development. There is no industrial-zoned vacant land that is available for new business development in town.

During the last decade, Belknap said the city received various inquiries from manufacturers and other commercial business owners looking for a location in Moscow.

Belknap said in an email that about half of the proposed district study area is outside the current city limit boundary and that any property proposed to be in the district will need to be within the city limits, meaning property will need to be annexed.

Belknap told agency commissioners Thursday that the district boundary could go outside the city’s boundary if the city entered into a transfer of powers ordinance with Latah County. The county determined in 2017 the ordinance could potentially be in conflict with the Idaho Constitution, so the county commissioners encouraged the MURA to move forward with working with property owners for annexation.

Belknap said in 2017 that staff spoke with several property owners who would be affected by the district and they did not oppose annexation, although it may not be their first choice.

Over the next three months of this year, he said they will restart those conversations with property owners about their desire to be included in the district and annexed into the city.

Belknap said the new SEL property is under proceedings for the property to be annexed into the city. The Moscow Planning and Zoning Commission will consider the matter in a couple weeks and the Moscow City Council will take it up in November, he said.

Deesten Farms LLC is selling the land, located on U.S. Highway 95 near CHS Primeland, to SEL, according to a SEL news release one month ago. No firm building plans are in place at this time and the company will continue to evaluate its business needs and share news of project plans as they develop, the release said.

The agency’s existing Legacy Crossing Urban Renewal District is 169 acres. The Legacy Crossing and proposed south Moscow districts must be no more than 10 percent of the city’s total assessed valuation, per state law. Belknap said the two districts are less than 7 percent of Moscow’s total assessed valuation.

The Moscow City Council will need to approve the district, which Belknap said is tentatively scheduled for July or August.

Garrett Cabeza can be reached at (208) 883-4631, or by email to gcabeza@dnews.com.