[BoulderCouncilHotline] Linkage fee considerations

[Brockett, Aaron]

Dear colleagues, city staff and hotline followers,


As you know, we will be taking up the topic of affordable housing linkage fees on commercial development Tuesday night. Higher linkage fees bring the promise of additional funding for affordable housing, which is attractive because the need for affordable housing in our community is so great. But, they also bring the possibility of higher commercial rents, because as the cost of constructing new space goes up, rent for commercial tenants is likely to go up as well. This is a serious concern, because affordability is also a major problem for our local small businesses, as we see from regular reports of long time local institutions closing because of an inability to pay increased rents. It's also a problem for local non-profits, which often struggle to find office space they can afford.


Because of these concerns, I would like to propose two ideas:


1) Lower impact fees for small commercial projects. Larger projects, and the generally larger businesses that occupy them, are more able to bear the higher linkage fees that are under discussion. If we keep fees lower on smaller buildings, say those below 10,000 sf, we can moderate rent increases for the small businesses that would occupy these spaces after construction.


2) Linkage fee reduction or elimination for non-profit projects. As currently defined, the commercial linkage fees work the same for large for-profit businesses as for small, local non-profits. For example, the new construction being planned by such organizations as Growing Gardens, Resource Central and Meals on Wheels would be subject to the full amount of the fee. Our local non-profits already struggle to afford the high cost of space in town, and additional linkage fees would contribute to that problem. If a project were dedicated to the use of one or more non-profits, I propose significantly reducing or eliminating the commercial linkage fee.


Taken together, these measures would cushion undesirable side effects of high commercial linkage fees. So, I request that city staff be able to discuss the feasibility of these proposals at Tuesday night's meeting.


Thanks to everyone for reading and considering these ideas.


Best,

Aaron Brockett

Mayor Pro Tem, City of Boulder

brocketta at bouldercolorado.gov

(720) 984-1863
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