![]() "We will run robust a campaign" to get the measure overturned, campaign spokesman Benedetto said.Video games are without question one of the hardest and biggest obstacles to overcome when you first get involved in a journey of self-improvement. And so Gloria, who controls the agenda, has to decide if there is time to add the controversial linkage fee vote as well.įee opponents said it doesn't matter when the vote takes place. Presumably, the referendum date should be settled quickly so that housing advocates and developers know what fees to expect in the future.īut the March 3 and 4 council agendas already include several contentions issues - such as marijuana dispensaries and La Jolla seals. The council will then have 10 business days - until March 10 or 11 - in which to rescind the measure or put it on the next regularly scheduled citywide ballot. ![]() Historically a general election draws more voters than in a primary, especially Democrats who might be more inclined than Republicans or independents to raise developer fees.Ĭity Clerk Elizabeth Maland said she will present a certificate of signature sufficiency at the council's Monday or Tuesday meeting. The fall ballot will include statewide and local offices and numerous statewide propositions. "We feel that the voting populace would be more inclined to support the council decision (raising the fees) in November than June," Riggs said. But she hopes it will appear in the November general election, not the June primary. The San Diego Housing Federation's executive director, Susan Riggs, said she was disappointed that the referendum has qualified for the ballot. "Vibrant 21st century cities need people from all walks of life, not just those with high incomes," he said. Interim Mayor Todd Gloria, who voted for the fee increase, said the current rates, unchanged since 1996, have cost the city millions of dollars of "potential investment and hundreds of homes for working families." "The more that we go down this path of forcing the business community to take this to the voters, the more it takes away the opportunity to discuss meaningful alternatives to fund subsidized housing," Benedetto said. "The coalition calls on the City Council to repeal this jobs tax and instead work with small businesses and other job creators to develop a sustainable and adequate supply of affordable housing without damaging our local economy," he said.Ĭampaign spokesman Craig Benedetto said business leaders believe the voters will overturn the increase, based on the ease with which the signatures were gathered in January - albeit with the help of paid signature gatherers. The argument was that higher fees would stifle growth and eliminate jobs. ![]() The business community's Jobs Coalition launched the referendum drive just after Christmas with former Mayor Jerry Sanders, now head of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, leading the charge. As much as $10 million is expected annually, enough to build as many as 100 homes, if the fees go into effect, on a graduated schedule starting July 1 as originally intended. Other rates apply to hotels, retail and industrial spaces with the highest increase of 744 percent charged to warehouses, which went from 27 cents to $2.28 per square foot. The new fees raised the cost for office development from $1.06 to $5.32 per square foot. The San Diego Housing Commission says about $2 million is currently raised annually. The one-time fees, first adopted in 1990, are charged to nonresidential developers and deposited into the city's housing trust fund to build affordable housing projects and operate various programs.
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