COEUR d’ALENE — One proposed change would allow a whole county to elect a city’s urban renewal leaders, while another would give taxing districts the option to opt out.

On Monday, a House Revenue and Taxation Committee subcommittee agreed to draft a new, comprehensive bill aimed at changes to how urban renewal districts are created and run.

The rewrite would update Idaho’s 45-year-old urban renewal laws.

“I think we’re more interested in what we call putting sideboards on (urban renewal),” said Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, of the legislation.

House Bills 570, 572, 569, 568, 571, 578, and 567 are attempts to amend existing law to allow for, among other changes, public elections of urban renewal district board members and opening the URA planning process to the public and providing for more days of public input.

But proponents don’t want any changes that undermine the agencies’ ability to promote economic development and improve blighted areas.

Members of the House subcommittee spent nearly a week reviewing proposals for changes.

Tony Berns, Lake City Development Corp. executive director, testified on the proposed changes last week in Boise.

Berns said the local board is in favor of updating and modernizing the statutes, but did not favor any of the major changes, including the proposal of an elected commission.

Hart said the commission idea might be too broad of a reach, as members who live far away from a city’s urban renewal district could sit on the board and make decisions on its behalf.

Former Coeur d’Alene City Council candidate Dan Gookin, who also testified last week in Boise, agreed.

“It’s too wide,” he said of the election step.

But Gookin did favor expanding public input periods on proposed districts from 30 to 90 days.

He also favored legislation that would allow taxing entities to opt out of districts should one form around them.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.