When it comes to its downtown fee waivers program, city leaders
have a tricky balancing act.
When it comes to its downtown fee waivers program, city leaders have a tricky balancing act.
After a long and difficult six months spent working on Monterey Street, the city wants to encourage investment in its city center. But those fees represent real costs incurred by the city, and it is not right or fair that other taxpayers subsidize downtown businesses forever.
On the other hand, there certainly are creative ideas that should be advanced to keep downtown moving in the right direction.
So far, the city has waived nearly $2 million in impact fees, and developers are clamoring for the savings to continue.
A one-year fee waiver program is reasonable. Any developers whose applications are submitted by the expiration date for the program should see their fees waived, regardless of how long it takes the city to complete their work of processing those applications. There’s no sense in punishing developers if city officials drag their feet.
But at some point, these fee waivers must end. The city’s has put considerable money into improving Monterey Street. It was a painful process, but businesses who locate downtown will reap the benefits for years to come.
The city’s focus on downtown should continue, even though the fee waiver program needs to end in a year. Work should continue on creating a town square, which many think will encourage more foot traffic downtown. And a new facade improvement program – perhaps with matching funds from City Hall – might be a good place to start a creative-idea discussion.
The Gilroy Downtown Association, the Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Committee ought to be working closely with merchants, property owners, developers and residents to develop new ideas for improving downtown.
Downtown, at some point, must stand mostly on its own. Clearly, the entire area has been through a rough period. But the city, while it should lend leadership and a hand, is not responsible for making developers’ projects pencil out.
