Economic Vitality Committee Agenda and Packet 2021 09 24

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SUBJECT: STRATEGIC PLAN ITEM #1-3 DATE: AUGUST 20, 2021 PAGE 6 OF 8 Because transportation is one of the largest impacts on the environment, staff also partnered with Commuting Solutions to consider opportunities for incentives in this area. Each of the ideas presented would require more investigation into potential costs and implementation, but staff wanted to share them in case this was an area of focus Council would like to pursue. Similar to the green initiatives, there may also be opportunities to offer some of these as programs independent of the BAP. Ideas include: • Funding for primary employers interested in providing transit, carpool, or vanpool incentives. • Funding to create a company bike library, to allow employees free access to bikes. • Funding a carshare vehicle for employers that have a certain percentage of employees using options other than a personal vehicle to get to work. • Providing policy support for parking reductions where feasible. • Either funding or providing increased/enhanced bike parking, such as outdoor racks, in office racks, and bike corrals or lockers. To help show the various options the Council has to incentivize certain outcomes within the Business Assistance Program, staff created a visual, included as Attachment #2. Each area presented above is represented in an oval, and then the incentive options surround the oval. Solid lines show the most direct outcome being incentivized, but a number of these incentives also tie to opportunities for business retention. So those relationships are also shown with a dotted line. As noted, this discussion is meant to be a menu of options Council may or may not select to pursue, in addition to the existing incentive rebates. Other Community Programs The communities surrounding Louisville have a variety of programs and practices around incentives. Staff contacted City of Boulder, City of Lafayette, City of Longmont, Town of Erie, and Town of Superior. For those that have a more formalized program, staff is sharing information about the types of incentives and process. Based on outreach and web research, staff confirmed that both City of Lafayette and Town of Superior process incentives only on a case -by -case basis. Superior does have a $50,000 annual budget for retention and expansion incentives; attraction incentives are based on incremental sales and property taxes as well as district -specific Tax Increment Financing. City of Boulder offers its Flexible Rebate Incentive Program, which is available to primary employers that meet certain eligibility requirements as well as sustainability guidelines. The tool is focused more on retention and growth within Boulder, though some new primary employers may be eligible to apply. Like Louisville, their incentives are rebate -based and focus on Building Permit Fees and City Sales/Use taxes. The City provides an annual funding allocation through the budget process and rebates range from $5,000 to $100,000, with the average being about $50,000. Staff administers the Agenda Packet P. 18