posted by Mike Madison at 7:30 AM /
[Read Part I here.]
[Read Part II here.]
TIF
Another issue the Commission has been wrestling with for years
has been development of the property at the corner of Washington and
Bower Hill Roads. The land, sometimes referred to as the "Pennzoil
Property" has been sitting vacant, unused and generating very little
in tax revenue for decades. Back in 1995, a comprehensive plan for the
development of "gateways" to the community was completed on behalf
of the Township. The plan, known as "Chan Krieger," proposed
moderate-density lower scale apartments or condos with a first-floor
retail component for this northern Washington Road gateway to Mt.
Lebanon.
As anyone can discern, the Washington-Bower Hill land has still
sat vacant for the last twelve years. There was an ultimately-aborted
attempt at development with a builder some years back, but that attempt
failed largely due to the developer's inability to secure financing
for the project. In the late Spring of 2005, the Township invited a
Request for Qualifications (RFQ) from developers interested in building
a project envisioned by the Chan Krieger Plan. The process ultimately
led to Zamagias Properties being selected as the developer.
The controversy surrounding the project is not the development
itself but rather has been the securing of Tax Increment Financing (TIF)
by Zamagias. Before addressing the controversy, I will preface my
discussion with one item about the project which I do not believe is
controversial; namely, I believe persons on either side of the TIF issue
would agree that the project itself is a worthy one, will be attractive
in appearance and will provide a "shot in the arm" to the Washington
Road commercial district.
The real question has been whether this type of project in this
community is worthy of a TIF. As a general rule, I share the opinion of
Fifth Ward Commissioner Keith Mulvihill that private development is just
that - private - and that it should succeed or fail based upon its own
merits. However, as with any general rule, I also believe there are
exceptions. The simple fact is that the Pennzoil property has been
vacant and gathering weeds for the last few decades. It is an eyesore
and generates only roughly $13,300.00 in municipality and school
district real estate taxes collectively on an annual basis. While a
developer could certainly come in and proceed with a project without a
TIF, the project we would get would not be what is envisioned by Chan
Krieger. During the process, I came to the conclusion that the Zamagias
project was a worthy and worthwhile development and that the land would
not get developed pursuant to the Chan Krieger Plan without a TIF.
As I stated during a public meeting when the Commission approved
a TIF district for the development, the TIF process was far from
perfect. I think the developer should have been more prompt in its
submissions of plans and documentation. The Commission had to grant
extensions to Zamagias on more than one occasion. I also believe the
Township, including the Commission, could have consulted more closely
with the School District during the process.
Nevertheless, I still believe proceeding with the TIF for
Zamagias was the right thing to do. I believe one of the misconceptions
that arose during the debate on whether to proceed was the idea that the
Township and School District would be giving the developer something
akin to a wheel-barrel of cash and that the taxpayers would be fleeced.
To the contrary, under the TIF, an agreed-upon percentage of the
incremental increased tax on the property is placed in a fund to repay
the developer's loan. With the development and improvement to the
real estate, there will still be much greater tax revenue to both the
Township and the School District, even with the TIF. I believe
Commissioner Dave Humphreys of the Third Ward provided an excellent
rebuttal to the arguments against the TIF in his October 2006
Commissioner's Report in Mt. Lebanon Magazine, and I would encourage
you to read the same. If you no longer have the October 2006 issue, it
is available online at the Mt. Lebanon website.
The deer management, aquatic center and TIF issues I have
discussed in this newsletter are of course only a relatively small
portion of the challenges I have seen as a Commissioner. In future
newsletters and in my Mt. Lebanon Magazine reports, I hope to engage in
a discussion of other questions as well. As always, I am available for
questions, comments and criticism via telephone call, e-mail or simply
approaching me on the street. My contact information is at the
www.mtlebanon.org site.
[Read Part II here.]
TIF
Another issue the Commission has been wrestling with for years
has been development of the property at the corner of Washington and
Bower Hill Roads. The land, sometimes referred to as the "Pennzoil
Property" has been sitting vacant, unused and generating very little
in tax revenue for decades. Back in 1995, a comprehensive plan for the
development of "gateways" to the community was completed on behalf
of the Township. The plan, known as "Chan Krieger," proposed
moderate-density lower scale apartments or condos with a first-floor
retail component for this northern Washington Road gateway to Mt.
Lebanon.
As anyone can discern, the Washington-Bower Hill land has still
sat vacant for the last twelve years. There was an ultimately-aborted
attempt at development with a builder some years back, but that attempt
failed largely due to the developer's inability to secure financing
for the project. In the late Spring of 2005, the Township invited a
Request for Qualifications (RFQ) from developers interested in building
a project envisioned by the Chan Krieger Plan. The process ultimately
led to Zamagias Properties being selected as the developer.
The controversy surrounding the project is not the development
itself but rather has been the securing of Tax Increment Financing (TIF)
by Zamagias. Before addressing the controversy, I will preface my
discussion with one item about the project which I do not believe is
controversial; namely, I believe persons on either side of the TIF issue
would agree that the project itself is a worthy one, will be attractive
in appearance and will provide a "shot in the arm" to the Washington
Road commercial district.
The real question has been whether this type of project in this
community is worthy of a TIF. As a general rule, I share the opinion of
Fifth Ward Commissioner Keith Mulvihill that private development is just
that - private - and that it should succeed or fail based upon its own
merits. However, as with any general rule, I also believe there are
exceptions. The simple fact is that the Pennzoil property has been
vacant and gathering weeds for the last few decades. It is an eyesore
and generates only roughly $13,300.00 in municipality and school
district real estate taxes collectively on an annual basis. While a
developer could certainly come in and proceed with a project without a
TIF, the project we would get would not be what is envisioned by Chan
Krieger. During the process, I came to the conclusion that the Zamagias
project was a worthy and worthwhile development and that the land would
not get developed pursuant to the Chan Krieger Plan without a TIF.
As I stated during a public meeting when the Commission approved
a TIF district for the development, the TIF process was far from
perfect. I think the developer should have been more prompt in its
submissions of plans and documentation. The Commission had to grant
extensions to Zamagias on more than one occasion. I also believe the
Township, including the Commission, could have consulted more closely
with the School District during the process.
Nevertheless, I still believe proceeding with the TIF for
Zamagias was the right thing to do. I believe one of the misconceptions
that arose during the debate on whether to proceed was the idea that the
Township and School District would be giving the developer something
akin to a wheel-barrel of cash and that the taxpayers would be fleeced.
To the contrary, under the TIF, an agreed-upon percentage of the
incremental increased tax on the property is placed in a fund to repay
the developer's loan. With the development and improvement to the
real estate, there will still be much greater tax revenue to both the
Township and the School District, even with the TIF. I believe
Commissioner Dave Humphreys of the Third Ward provided an excellent
rebuttal to the arguments against the TIF in his October 2006
Commissioner's Report in Mt. Lebanon Magazine, and I would encourage
you to read the same. If you no longer have the October 2006 issue, it
is available online at the Mt. Lebanon website.
The deer management, aquatic center and TIF issues I have
discussed in this newsletter are of course only a relatively small
portion of the challenges I have seen as a Commissioner. In future
newsletters and in my Mt. Lebanon Magazine reports, I hope to engage in
a discussion of other questions as well. As always, I am available for
questions, comments and criticism via telephone call, e-mail or simply
approaching me on the street. My contact information is at the
www.mtlebanon.org site.
Labels: john daley, mt. lebanon commission
7 Comments:
Oh my goodness! Somebody has been drinking the Municipal koolaid.
I wish I had time to write - but I gotta go. If anyone does look up the article by Commissioner Humphreys - please keep in mind he helped mix the koolaid.
I thought that one of the purposes of a TIF was to help revitalize "blighted" areas. While I agree that the corner of Washington and Bower Hill is an eyesore, I can't see how ANY part of Mt. Lebanon would qualify as a blighted area.
It seems to me that we have essentially said, "Hey look, here's a creative way to pay for better development." Even though this was never the intent of taxpayer funds...
Just the "company" line again. My memory says the site was not always vacant. It was the ambulance station for a while. Did the township try to market it and simply put the ambulances there so it would look used? Nope. They did not try to market the property for a long time and when they did got into a downward spiral with the previous developer that had no money and was late on his taxes. No they use this long period as an excuse.
Well agree or disagree, it's refreshing to get a sitting Commissioner to post his views and explain his reasoning. I like to visit the current crop of Commission candidates websites (although one candidate doesn't have one!? in todays times!?), I think it is great that Mr. Daley is trying to reach out online and hope others will follow his example.
Anonymous 4:22 - "Refreshing"???
Two years ago Mr. Daley made promises, while campaigning, to correspond with his constituents on a regular basis. Two years!! later he tries to defend some of his decisions on this blog, which while probably read by a fair number of people hardly reaches all the residents in Ward 2. I, for one, don't find this refreshing.
anon 539- If you live in his ward and don't feel that he corresponds to you enough that is one thing. I don't live in his ward and have NEVER heard from my commissioner at all. Chastise him if you want for not doing it enough and please do share the wonder-ward that you live in where your commissioner and school board members update you in a regular fashion. I only met Daley at a First Friday but I wish my commissioner would attempt to reach his constituents like he did (especially in a such a manner that subjects him to anonymous critique!). But hey, keeping flogging the only guy out here...
Anon. 6:29 - Isn't it interesting that those who like to criticize others for posting anonymously do so ANONYMOUSLY!
I live in Mr. Daleys ward, and these posts of his are the first time in two years that he has made any attempt, other than the occasional commissioners page in the ML magazine, to correspond with those who elected him, and I agree with the earlier post that this is hardly the way to reach a majority of his constituents. Just because other elected officials, both municipal and school district, have done less does not make this weak attempt to fulfill campaign promises something to celebrate.
In his 'discussion' of the TIF, Mr. Daley states that he agrees with Commissioner Mulvihill that "private development is just that - private - and should succeed or fail on its own merits", but in this case he somehow convinced himself that this project was an exception. For such exceptions I wonder how low he sets the bar?
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