The Coos Bay City Council has scheduled a public hearing for Dec. 1 to take comments about whether to let the district’s special taxing status go away.

The city created the district that includes the business core of Empire in August 1995, but the legal language included a provision that it would revert to normal tax district in December 2011.

The city hired a consultant earlier this year to review its urban renewal districts. He suggested dumping the sunset clause since the state doesn’t require one, said interim City Manager Rodger Craddock.

“What’s important for the public to understand, whether the Urban Renewal District sunsets or it doesn’t sunset, it doesn’t change the amount of money they are assessed,” he said.

Tax revenues generated for an urban renewal district are diverted from the city general fund into an account, where they can be spent only within the district’s boundaries for capital improvements.

Last fiscal year, the URA received $434,507, of which $239,710 was spent to pay bonds for previously completed work.

The city’s other urban renewal district, which includes much of the downtown waterfront, does not include a sunset clause.