Public Comment

Please reject the proposal to charge a flat square foot fee for significant community benefits. The benefits proposed are clearly inadequate. The City’s own 2011 analysis would provide for more to be paid by developers. Since then, enormous rent increases have greatly increased the potential profitability of taller buildings downtown. 

The City Council should instead demand an independent evaluation of the impact of these buildings and what developers can afford to pay. Such an analysis is essential to determine what is feasible and to ensure that the community benefits are adequate and capture the added value resulting from the City’s action to upzone Downtown to allow 120’ and 180’ buildings. 

The City Council should make sure that loss of current amenities on sites proposed for development are mitigated before community benefits are considered. Retaining something that is already on a site is not a community benefit, but is essential for avoiding detriment to our downtown. 

Community benefits for all taller projects should include substantial affordable housing as required by earlier impact studies, and the City Council should include other benefits noted in the Downtown Plan including building greener buildings with significant use of renewable energy and providing funds for open space projects downtown, alternative transportation measures and improvements for transit, pedestrians and bicyclists.