Economic Vitality Committee Agenda and Packet 2024 10 02

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Economic Vitality Committee Meeting Minutes September 4, 2024 Page 4 of 6 Zarate commented that all landlords may not operate that way and increased rents could be an unintended consequence. Public Comment from Eric Reed: Mr. Reed asked how long the City would be willing to provide assistance. He also wondered what sort of return the City would be looking for based on its investment. Chair Dickinson responded that it seems like this may not necessarily be the best approach to incentivize retail businesses to come to downtown Louisville. Manager Zarate shared that this program could be setting up a business for failure by artificially lowering the barrier to entry for new businesses. Councilmember Bierman agreed that he feels a little less comfortable with this program. Director Zuccaro added that many landlords will have owned the property for a number of years and don't necessarily need to charge the high rents that are present in downtown Louisville. Manager Zarate agreed and stated that a market correction could be coming at some point. Chair Dickinson responded that rent is currently too high in Louisville to support downtown businesses and stated that he would like the City to do something to bring small retail businesses downtown. He wondered if the existing BAP program is the best solution, and suggested a higher rebate for retail businesses that are under a certain square footage. Manager Zarate suggested that staff comes back with information around additional support that Economic Vitality currently offers to retail businesses. Public Comment from Mark Cathcart: Mr. Cathcart commented that bringing more small retail businesses to downtown Louisville and offering large sales tax rebates to these businesses may have the unintended consequence of rising rents in Louisville. Chair Dickinson concluded that it did require a larger sales tax rebate than typically offered to fill a vacancy at the former Lowe's and was hopeful that something similar could help bring more retail businesses downtown. Economic Vitality Tax Councilmember Bierman noted that he would like to explore this option a little further as he would appreciate bringing in additional revenue from outside visitors without impacting residents. Chair Dickinson responded that it would be complicated to go to the voters to add an additional tax and he wondered what other options might be available for funding the loan program or rent assistance. Manager Zarate responded that there are other options for funding including the general fund. She has also seen similar ballot measures fail in other cities. City Manager Fox clarified that