If Portland is where young people go to retire, according to the satiric television show "Portlandia," then Milwaukie might be where they go to grow up.

At least, that's the view of Mayor Mark Gamba, who hopes an influx of younger people priced out of Portland will continue stoking a mini revolution of solar-panel installations, bicycle and pedestrian improvements, and development capitalizing on the recent arrival of TriMet's Orange Line.

But there is at least one more needed fix, in Gamba's eyes, that can help Portland's Clackamas County neighbor overcome decades of economic underachievement to take full advantage of its front seat view of the Willamette River: urban renewal.

The term has sparked controversy elsewhere, drawing the ire of small-government advocacy groups who see it as public meddling in development activities the market should decide.

Clackamas County Board Chairman John Ludlow, for instance, has called urban renewal "robbery" for directing money to capital improvements within a specific area for several years and away from schools, police and fire.

He and fellow Commissioner Tootie Smith actively supported a citizen-led initiative that requires a countywide vote on adding or changing urban renewal districts in unincorporated areas. Clackamas County voters approved the measure in November 2011.

But in Milwaukie, what would be the city's first-ever urban renewal district -- capturing millions of dollars for infrastructure improvements and other critical upgrades in two key areas -- is rolling toward adoption with barely a peep of discontent.

The 260-acre district includes some of the city's most valuable land and is split among downtown, central Milwaukie, and corridors along 32nd and 42nd avenues.

Far from referring district to voters in the city of 20,000, Gamba and a majority of Milwaukie City Council's five members are set to approve it on their own Aug. 16. The council will hold a public hearing Aug. 2.

"Former councils remained in the echo chamber of their 40 friends and ended up opposing this," said Gamba, adding he's seen a "significant" progressive shift in Milwaukie as young families have flooded in over the past few years. "This council has aggressively reached out to the whole of Milwaukie and found overwhelming support to move ahead."

So far, the proposal has remained controversy-free, he said. The council hasn't received a single letter or piece of testimony opposing urban renewal.

If adopted, property taxes collected within the district for public services such as schools, police and fire protection would be frozen for 29 years.

Instead, as property values rise, new tax revenue would help the city borrow millions on the bond market to finance infrastructure improvements and other projects such as helping businesses upgrade facades.

When the district is retired, the tax base is unfrozen and public service providers would begin collecting taxes on the new, theoretically much higher, property values.

Denny Egner, Milwaukie's planning director, is convinced urban renewal would make the city more attractive for developments such as a badly needed downtown grocery store.

As things stand now, he said, rents and land prices are just low enough that multi-story, mixed-use buildings simply don't pencil out for developers.

"We have a market gap, which explains why nothing's happened in Milwaukie for the past 20 years," Egner said. "People are nibbling, but they haven't crossed that threshold. This would give us an important financing tool to bridge that financing gap."

Even so, the city will have to wait at least two years after approving the district before it can stash enough money to go out for bonds, Egner said. That time frame could be reduced, he said, if the city's operating fund loaned money to the urban renewal district.

Mike Richardson, who grew up in Milwaukie and whose Dark Horse Comics employs 165 people in offices spanning nearly three blocks downtown, said he's all in favor of moving ahead.

"Milwaukie is uniquely situated to take advantage of being right on the Willamette River," Richardson said. "The problem has been attracting big-box retail and food companies downtown. This could be just what we need to do that."

Wilda Parks, a City Council member, agreed.

"This city is in the midst of change," she said. "Urban renewal certainly isn't the end-all, but it is definitely a tool we can use as a catalyst for development."

TriMet's Orange Line, which opened last September, is helping that transformation, said Pam Yancowski, a Milwaukie real estate agent.

"I'm getting calls all the time from people, especially young families, who have discovered Milwaukie as an affordable alternative to the sky-high prices in Southeast Portland," Yancowski said.

That influx, in turn, is driving up prices in Milwaukie, as well. Some properties close to the Orange Line rising by double digits over the past year. "Around here," she added, "that's just unheard of."

To the extent the type of gentrification that has unsettled some areas of Portland is occurring, it is addressed in Milwaukie's proposal by requiring that affordable housing is included in future development efforts, Mayor Gamba said.

Egner, the city's planning director, tossed out one statistic he said underscores all of the change.

When the council put out calls to fill a new 15-member "visioning committee," 52 applications poured in. Of those, 24 came from people whose families had lived in Milwaukie for three years or less.

"I was stunned," Egner said. "It signals clearly that we really do have a lot of new people who have come to a community where they want nothing more than to be involved."

The urban part of what lies ahead is still developing. The renewal aspect, on the other hand, is well underway.

-- Dana Tims

503-294-7647; @Dana Tims