The City Council has invested millions of dollars in the downtown in an effort to revitalize it, a process that Mayor Lewis Billings said is gaining momentum with the construction of one downtown office tower and the announcements of two more, among millions of dollars of additional private investment.

Stewart said he'll listen to both sides tonight but is leaning toward voting for the proposal.

"I hoped we'd have less protest than this, but at the same time, you have 70 percent who didn't protest. I think that's because we're allocating the assessment based as best we can on the benefit that will be provided and because the city is contributing heavily."

The public hearing will be held in the council chambers at the City Center and be televised on Provo Channel 17.

Two other public hearings with major repercussions will be held on proposals for neighborhood parking permit programs in the Foothill Park area and University Gardens area, both near Seven Peaks Water Park.

The programs are the appetizers for a pending battle over a proposed parking permit program directly south of the Brigham Young University campus. The proposals limit who can park on city streets in those areas.

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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com