Lower developer fees - Sacramento Business Journal:

bentlyoupapa1810.blogspot.com
Cash-strapped California can hold abond sale, generatinvg much-needed revenue to help finance large-scale capital projects — thin k road and school construction — and possiblyy jump-start the economy. the Golden State’s anemic bond-crediyt rating increases the cost for the But cities andcounties — many alreaduy facing ballooning budget deficits, especiall with declining home values and tightfisted consumer spending — have few option s to raise revenue.
It’s mostly a battle of financialk survival ratherthan long-term planning during the past few So, a dramatic discount in development fees seems almost counter-intuitive — ask for less cash in hopes of generatinyg a much-larger stash. Well, the city of Elk Grovew is embracingEconomics 101. The city — one of the nation’ fastest-growing communities just a few years ago will lower some development fees by 30 percenyt to55 percent.
Just like any half-price the city hopes to attract more uh developers, and grab more revenue from The city, arguably the hardest-hit by the housing downturn in the four-county region, has been iced over for more than a One-time bustling corners with commercial development are A much-anticipated lifestyle center — basically an outdoor mall has become a long-delayed especially as a national development companyt enters bankruptcy court.
And the abundance of competinbg new-home sale signs on almostf every corner on Elk Grove and Lagunsa boulevards is merely evidenceof remember-when Ah, the good ol’ when cities could ask for dollars and deep-pockete developers would complain plenty but pony up the moneyt because nifty paydays were a sure thing. Now, the globalk recession has everyone spinning and upside Last year, Elk Grove issued 258 new-homew building permits, compared to the peak of 4,00 in 2004. Commercial construction also has What’s a city to do? Well, lower the developmenft fees, which can reach $80,000 for a new home in Elk It’s almost a no-brainer.
No construction means no You can ask for development feesof $250,000, but if nobody is building, then it’s useless. Lower fees encourage builders to begihn applyingfor permits, laying the foundation for construction projecta — and the while also providing much-needed work. The cities of Elk Groved and Woodland have adopted thebold idea, pushe largely by the North State Building Industry The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors is expectex to consider a fee cut in July. Now, other cities and countie should embrace the effort to help the economy in the looking at Elk Grove and Woodland as models for anovek idea.