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Martin Thomen wrote:
> So the headline on the website says "Success"- on what exactly I'm
> really not sure. Success in driving away a developer who obviously
> values the neighborhood? Success in refusing to negotiate?
I'm really not trying to be mean, but calling the vote last night a
"Success" for the folks opposed to granting a variance shows a very high
level of inexperience with these sorts of processes. Specifically, if
this were going to city council instead of the BOA, the developer would
be virtually assured, at this point, of being granted the variance.
Here's why: currently, the city is collecting $10K-$15K per year in
property tax from those 2 parcels. If the Endeavor deal goes through,
they (+AISD, etc.) will start collecting over $750,000/year in property
taxes instead. (Let's not even bother to mention service fees, sales
tax, etc..) Now, put yourself in the shoes of a city official with
thousands of causes/issues/problems clamoring for money every year.
Would you rather have a what's there now bringing in $15,000/yr or -- at
no cost to you -- have the same parcel pulling down $750,000/yr? This
is really a no brainer for them -- they want to allow these deals to
happen, but also want to get re-elected. Consequently if an NA is
adamantly opposed to a project and hundreds of people show up at city
hall with pitchforks and torches, they have no choice but to say no. In
this case, a 78 to 79 vote gives them the perfect cover to point out
that the neighborhood is evenly divided on the issue, but they have to
make a choice after all, so why not give the developer (and the property
owner) what they want? The BOA is mostly immune from these kinds of
financial considerations, which is why this is the one case where this
isn't an automatic win for the developer. However, the Planning
Commission, BOA, and City Council see these sorts of cases every week
and are well aware that people who oppose a project are almost always
more highly motivated then those who support it, and factor that into
their decision making. Like I said, if this were anything but a BOA
case, this would be a slam-dunk win for the developer. I was frankly
shocked at the outcome and am proud of the neighborhood for thoughtfully
considering this issue.
Back to the tax thing. $750,000 clams every single year is a lot of
simoleons; money that would pay for an awful lot of sidewalks and
neighborhood amenities. One of the things to consider in all this is
requesting that the city set up a TIF for these kinds of very high
density develops in the neighborhood, so that a good chunk of the money
comes directly back to us for us to invest in our infrastructure. This
might even include buying up land for a neighborhood park (to cite one
of my favorite examples), a community center, what have you.
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Website: Northfield Neighborhood Assoc - www.main.org/nna
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