pages: CityCouncil/2013-09-25.pdf, 9
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CityCouncil | 2013-09-25 | 9 | and whether the City would lead with the Town Center: Doug Biggs, Alameda Point Collaborative. Encouraged the City to think big; stated Alameda has the opportunity to become a destination; the City should not just settle for sales tax and should have a ground lease, which would help solve budget issues: Karen Bey, Alameda. Gave a brief presentation on history at Alameda Point; suggested Catalina Cove is the right name for the Town Center: Ethan Clifton, Alameda. Board Member Tang discussed use tax revenue; stated having businesses, especially high tech companies move in, is a good thing; discussed Assembly Bill 93 (AB93); encouraged making major efforts to attract tech companies. Councilmember Chen inquired whether the City could come up with some kind of a tax credit or tax incentive program in addition to the AB93; stated information on the matter has been forwarded to staff for review. The City Manager responded staff is reviewing the information and is very interested; stated staff is not eager to provide additional tax breaks; the City would be bringing in businesses to increase tax revenue; having the State realize the tax burden needs to be scaled back to draw people here is good; staff would be cautious about attracting businesses by providing extensive tax breaks because the City would not make money. Board Member Tang stated some cities are pretty aggressive in enticing high tech companies; Milpitas gave his company a five year plan and shared local taxes; the situation is win-win; short term incentives make the package more attractive to a company that wants to move to Alameda. The City Manager stated staff would not rule out the option, but wants to look very cautiously at any tax rebates; rebates would have to make economic sense for the City. Councilmember Chen stated the City is leaking in every retail category including an Asian market; suggested some sort of mall or marketplace for Asian-Americans at Alameda Point; stated the first three priorities are: major retail businesses, major job generating businesses, and maritime businesses; the fourth category is residential family housing; there should be a parallel approach; having residential fourth on the list almost sends a message that the City is not highly prioritizing residential development; suggested bumping up residential one or two notches; inquired how many of the 200 support housing units are low or affordable income units. The Chief Operating Officer - Alameda Point responded all of them. Councilmember Chen stated the City is trying to convert the project into a smaller footprint; inquired whether only 25% is required to be allocated for low income housing, Joint Meeting Alameda City Council and 9 Planning Board September 25, 2013 | CityCouncil/2013-09-25.pdf |