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Date Adopted:
Date Approved:
Effective Date:
City Attorney Approval: ______ Resolution No.
RESOLUTION NO. ____________
A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
FRESNO, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING A PROGRAM TO
INCENTIVIZE JOB CREATION ALONG THE
VENTURA/KINGS CANYON/AVENIDA CESAR CHAVEZ
CORRIDOR EAST OF FIRST STREET
WHEREAS, the City desires to provide incentives to facilitate job creation in the City; and
WHEREAS, commercial and mixed -use development creates jobs, increases property and sales taxes, attracts more business, and creates and enhances vibrant neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, the City provides Bus Rapid Transit service along the Ventura/Kings Canyon corridor in southeast Fresno, and the City wishes to incentivize job creation along the corridor; and
WHEREAS, the City is in the process of renaming Ventura/Kings Canyon to Avenida Cesar Chavez, and this resolution is intended to apply both before and after that name change is completed; and
WHEREAS, the City has adopted various development impact fees to mitigate the impacts of new development and to fund infrastructure to serve new development, including parks, trails, fire stations, police substations, street improvements, and traffic signals pursuant to the Mitigation Fee Act (Gov. Code 66000 et seq.); and WHEREAS, the City recognizes a fee cannot be increased on future developments or other developments to make up for fees eliminated for certain development projects; and
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WHEREAS, the City recognizes the eliminated fees need to be offset by identifying other legally available funding sources; and
WHEREAS, the City desires to provide the incentive to new commercial and mixed use development along the Ventura/Kings Canyon Corridor at the earliest possible opportunity to incentivize job creation; and
WHEREAS, to further incentivize job creation and new commercial and mixed-use development along the Ventura/Kings Canyon Corridor the City desires to provide sales, property, and business license tax rebates to eligible businesses which create jobs along the corridor; and
WHEREAS, in 2018, pursuant to Resolution No. 2018-95 the City implemented an 18-month pilot program under the terms set forth in this resolution, and the program was met with success; and
WHEREAS, the Council now wishes to permanently formalize this program.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Fresno as follows:
1. Consistent with the goals of the Economic Expansion Act, the City Manager shall be authorized and directed to reduce and/or eliminate the amount due for citywide Impact Fees of ev ery type, except water connection charges and sewer connection charges, if the following criteria are met:
a. The development is a commercial or mixed -use development on vacant property along the Ventura/Kings Canyon/Avenida Cesar Chavez Corridor, east of First Street. For the purpose of this resolution, “vacant” shall mean any parcel or storefront, developed or undeveloped, that has been without an occupant
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or tenant for a period of one month or more;
b. The development is owner -occupied or subject to lea se of three years or more;
c. Necessary public infrastructure is already in place; d. The development will create and sustain at least a net five new full- time equivalent jobs that are a good match for the available workforce in the four - county Fresno commute shed; the applicant shall have a continuing annual obligation to document the jobs created, and the applicant’s records shall be subject to City audit to verify the necessary information; e. The development will create an increase in assessed valuation, and therefore property tax receipts due to the City, which combined with potential sales tax revenue and other revenue streams resulting from the job creation and economic activity of the development, help offset the reduced fees and other incentives in the long term;
f. The business is not simply relocating from another location within the City of Fresno;
g. The business is current on its business license tax; and h. Funding is available in the adopted City budget to transfer into the impact fee accounts to offset the amount of any reduced or waived impact fees.
2. In addition to the annual report required under the Mitigation Fee Act, the Administration shall provide Council an annual report detailing the amount and type of development impact fees reduced for each development project. The annual report shall contain information about jobs created as a result of the incentives provided herein.
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3. The City Manager is further authorized and directed to enter into an agreement consistent with this resolution to fully rebate the following taxes once actually paid by or on behalf of a business meeting the criteria set forth in Section 1 above, for a period of up to ten years, and upon the execution of an economic incentive agreement between the business and the City:
a. 50% of the City of Fresno’s share of local sales and use taxes as of the date of this Resolution, pursuant to California Revenue and Tax Code section 7203.1 (the City shall not rebate a portion of any special tax); and b. For owner occupied properties, 50% of the incremental City property tax attributable to investment made or caused by the business.
4. Program applicants shall be eligible for tax rebates after satisfying all criteria in Section 1 for one full year, and must maintain eligibility over the life of the economic incentive agreement.
5. The total value of incentives granted to a business under this Resolution shall not exceed $15,000 per full time equivalent employee, not to exceed $375,000 total.
6. The City Manager’s authorization and direction to reduce and/or eliminate selected impact fees and enter into an agreement regarding tax rebates shall apply to jobs created after the effective date of this resolution. A proportional share of any one- time incentive granted pursuant to this resolution, such as an impact fee waiver, shall be rebated to the City if the applicant does not remain in compliance with the criteria set forth in Section 1 for the full ten years. Incentives granted pursuant to this resolution shall be to the exclusion of other City incentive programs.
7. This resolution shall be effective upon final approval.
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STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF FRESNO ) ss.
CITY OF FRESNO )
I, TODD B. STERMER, City Clerk of the City of Fresno, certify that the foregoing resolution was adopted by the Council of the City of Fresno, at a regular meeting held on the day of , 2022.
AYES :
NOES :
ABSENT :
ABSTAIN :
Mayor Approval: , 2022
Mayor Approval/No Return: , 2022
Mayor Veto: , 2022
Council Override Vote: , 2022
TODD B. STERMER, CMC
City Clerk
By:
Deputy Date
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
RINA M. GONZALES
Interim City Attorney
By:__________________________
Jennifer M. Quintanilla Date
Senior Deputy City Attorney