Quote:
Originally Posted by MichaelS
Much of the SETWAY line has been developed already (all of it, really since Seton is in full swing). There is the chance of some redevelopment happening, but seeing as how developer's are still sitting on the land around dozens of our existing LRT stations, the appetite for TOD redevelopment doesn't seem to be huge, and expecting massive redevelopment to occur in these areas because we have put the SETWAY in seems unreasonable to me.
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You might be able to back date the tax program a bit on the grounds that the SETWAY was in the city plans and developers were already relying on it to some extent, but I think you’re addressing the key question. Given that places like Westbrook are still waiting to be developed, is there enough good development land available already? This is where the developers enter the equation again, imo. Westbrook and the SETWAY line may well attract different kinds of projects. The developers will know if the demand for the SETWAY is there, and if there is enough demand then in order to get the ball rolling on construction they need to kick in some money and make firm commitments to build their projects. With that in hand the city can then go to the public. As a member of the general public that would be enough to make me happy to have the city commit tax dollars to the project. In that scenario I can see the demand. I can see the commitment, and cash up front. I can see the alignment where the city and the developers are working towards the same end, a win-win project if you will. And I can see that it’s essentially set up as a user pay, or those who benefit most from it are paying for it. Yes, this later point may well be optics to a large extent, but as I said above I think it helps the general public see the connection between the money they’re spending and what they’re getting for it. It shows how the city is spending money to make money, iow, and not just frittering it away as Mr. Manning would have you believe.
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