Economic Vitality Committee Agenda and Packet 2021 10 22

Home Browse Search

Economic Vitality Committee Meeting Minutes September 24, 2021 Page 2 of 5 clarified that businesses may apply for this plus other rebates, but that the intent was to broaden the options for various projects. Both Mayor Pro Tern Maloney and Councilmember Dickinson agreed to this recommendation. Public comment from Councilmember Deb Fahey. Councilmember Fahey asked whether the sign permit fee rebate would be in addition to a rebate that could be offered through the Planning department. Director Pierce stated that there are separate applications for building permits and sign permits and that the rebates could stack, but only 50% of the total fees would be rebated for each permit type. Director Pierce summarized that the vacancy bonus incentive would apply to vacancy of two or more years but would not apply to a newly -constructed space that has been vacant. Director Pierce asked for feedback as to whether this incentive should be a standard amount or whether it should be a percentage of the first month's rent, capped at a certain amount. Mayor Pro Tern Maloney questioned how the bonus would be calculated. Councilmember Dickinson felt that the bonus for occupying a large building should be higher than the bonus for occupying a smaller space. He also stated that a rebate based on square footage would not vary with differing rent amounts. Councilmember Dickinson stated that this should be a bonus to the tenant and not to the landlord. Mayor Pro Tern Maloney agreed that the bonus amount should be based on square footage. Committee members discussed the incentive applying only to retail businesses and whether there are other incentives like this in the surrounding area. They concluded using square footage to determine the incentive amount was fair and easy to validate. Mayor Pro Tern Maloney emphasized the impact to the City in sales tax generated by a retail use versus an office use. Councilmember Dickinson emphasized the importance of filling a vacant building, regardless of use but also recognized that a large incentive should probably be for a use that generates revenue for the City. Mayor Pro Tern Maloney countered that an office use would provide secondary impacts to the City outside of sales tax. Director Pierce clarified that there would likely be zoning approval required in order for a retail space to change to an office use and also that the program can be further revised if priorities change in the future. It was recommended that this goes to the City Council for discussion as a bonus to retail occupancy with an incentive amount of $1/square foot with a cap. Mayor Pro Tern Maloney asked for additional information on how the standard incentive offering differed from the previous recommendation. Councilmember Dickinson clarified that this would be a minimum amount where any incentive packages found to be less than $5,000 would be rounded up. Mayor Pro Tern Agenda Packet P. 4