Two weeks ago, the City of San Diego passed a controversial increase for the linkage fees it charges developers. The linkage fees were created in 1990 as a way for the city to fund affordable housing. It charged developers 1.5% of the construction costs for commercial developers. (KPBS) The tax was cut to .75% six years later. These fees are meant to offset the low paying jobs that might be created from the new building to fund the affordable housing for these new people being employed. Affordable Housing, historically, received much of its funding through redevelopment money. However, with redevelopment dollars no longer on the table, cities across the county and state are ...having to come up with creative ways to finance their projects. (San Diego Daily Transcript) With the monies from redevelopment gone, the City of San Diego passed on a 5-4 vote on Nov. 4 that the fees be increased back to 1.5%. According to a report by the citys Independent Budget Analyst, that would result in hikes anywhere from 377 percent on developers of industrial and manufacturing projects to 744 percent for those who want to build warehouse or storage facilities. (KPBS) In the past few weeks, business leaders across the region have been discussing the effects this may have on San Diego. (UT San Diego) There are many sides to this issue, whether they be positive or negative. To learn more about these fees, see Voice of San Diegos explanation and San Diego Daily Transcripts piece as well. North San Diego County is open for business and opportunities are abound. With many of the cities in North County having some of the highest levels of business friendliness, such as Poway and their streamlining of the permitting process to three days or less to Vistas ever supportive economic development staff who do anything for their citys companies, North County can offer alternatives to the city of San Diego but continue doing business in San Diego County.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 18:12:13 +0000
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