The Dillon Town Council discussed how it would like to move forward with the redevelopment of the town core during its meeting Tuesday, April 29.

Council member Oliver Luck said he requested the discussion because “the most important task that the citizens of Dillon have asked of us … is how do we redevelop the core in a reasonable, responsible manner.”

Luck noted that the town of Dillon receives most of its revenue from sales tax and that the town’s Comprehensive Plan, the 2020 Town Core Master Plan, the 2020 Waterfront Master Plan and the 2023 Walkability Master Plan all contemplate redevelopment as a top objective.

While the town can have these master plans, the council is not in charge of building, Luck said. Instead that is the responsibility of private developers, who “take financial risk, borrow money from banks, try to build and try to make some money — no question about that,” he said.

The main questions Luck said he gets from town residents is about the town core and how it should be redeveloped. Despite the town’s long-standing goals and master plans, he said little progress has been made on redevelopment in the core.

“We need to get serious about how we want to develop the town core because in my estimation we’re kind of in a nowhere land,” Luck said. “We’ve got developers that have asked for certain things. In some cases I think we’ve dealt with those developers fairly. In other cases perhaps not so fairly.”

Luck said the town formed the Dillon Urban Renewal Authority — which consists of the same members as the council — in 2009 with the goals of removing blight and spurring development. He also noted many properties in the town core only consist of the existing building footprint, while the surrounding land is often small parcels of town-owned land.

Examples of where the town owns land outside the building footprint include at 103 Main Street and at the building where Pug Ryan’s Brewery is located. Development proposals at each of those two locations have sought the ability to incorporate those town-owned parcels.

“I’ve never understood why we had those in Dillon,” Luck said of those small slivers of town-owned property. He suggested that town staff arrange a list of those parcels of town-owned land so that they can be moved to the Urban Renewal Authority, which could transfer them to developers for below market value to spur redevelopment.

Council member Barbara Richard said that talking to town residents ahead of her election, she heard that residents wanted to revisit the Town Core Master Plan, which was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Richard said there needs to be a series of meetings and forums that are “informal so that the community can weigh in.” She also requested that the council get a “deep dive” on the purpose and functions of the Urban Renewal Authority.

Richard also said that people in Dillon “are extremely opinionated that every square foot in Dillon has value,” and she feels that developers should be paying for the land they need to redevelop, rather than getting the land for free or less than market value.

“If you needed to expand or you wanted to do a new development and you wanted to buy more land from your neighbor you would just buy the land, you wouldn’t expect it to be free or transferred unless there is some large public benefit,” Richard said.

Council member Kyle Hendricks appeared to agree, stating, “I don’t know if I’m, or if we, are necessarily ready to part with all of that property. So, I don’t know if taking that extra step (to transfer it to the Urban Renewal Authority) is right just yet.”

Council member Rachel Tuyn said that she looks forward to reviewing the Town Core Master Plan at an upcoming work session and that she doesn’t necessarily know that it has to be redone.

Tuyn noted that the existing Town Core Master Plan includes goals such as diversifying the types of business, driving density, solidifying the town as a year-round destination, creating a lively pedestrian atmosphere and making Dillon a preferred location for community experiences. She noted that the plan calls for the Urban Renewal Authority to “streamline development efforts” through public-private partnerships and incentives.

“In my opinion this is still the vision for the town in general,” Tuyn said. “… We’re not talking about putting these little parcels of land up for grabs for free. We’re talking about putting it into the Dillon Urban Renewal Authority for the purposes of reducing blight and revitalizing our town core.”

Council member Joshua Samuel agreed with Luck that the council should assemble a list of where the slivers of town-owned land are located but said that before giving up any of that land the town should identify the potential “public benefits” of those pieces of land.

Luck noted that transferring those pieces of land to the Urban Renewal Authority would only be a “formal step” and additional steps would still be required to transfer that land to a developer. He suggested the council take a walking tour around town to identify which small parcels of town-owned land might have value and which may not but could be making it difficult for developers to redevelop a space.

“Perhaps there is a piece or two (of that town-owned land) that does have some commercial value or some financial value,” Luck said. “But as I walk the town, I see very little commercial value or financial value in these little pieces, narrow pieces (of town-owned land).”

Dillon Town Manager Nathan Johnson said that the town staff will begin assembling a list of the small pieces of town-owned land for discussion at a future meeting.