Press Release June 20, 2007
For more information contact:
Ellensburg Downtown Association 509-962-6246 info@ellensburgdowntown.org
 

Ellensburg Downtown Association Proposes Mitigation Measures to Offset Impacts of Proposed Regional Retail Development  

The Ellensburg Downtown Association has developed a list of proposed measures to help offset the potentially damaging impact that proposed new regional retail development on the outskirts of town may have on Downtown. 

The City Council is currently considering an ordinance that would establish the permitting guidelines for up to one million square feet of regional retail at the two highway interchanges on the edge of town.  The Ellensburg Downtown Association is requesting that the City council include provisions to mitigate the impact of this development on the Downtown as part of the permitting ordinance.  “We believe it’s very important that these issues be worked out at the front end of the process” according to Association Director Timothy Bishop.

The Ellensburg downtown Association's proposal includes four (4) key elements.

• A request that the City dedicate a percentage of sales tax revenue from new regional retail development to fund downtown revitalization efforts
• A request to include a developer fee based on the amount of square footage to be built with these proceeds going to support Downtown marketing, promotion, and revitalization efforts
• Establish a minimum leasehold storefront size for regional retail to both ensure that business are large enough to create a regional draw and to minimize the recruitment and or relocation of existing downtown businesses
• That any regional retail development be subject to an economic impact analysis study prior to permitting to ensure that the size of the project does not exceed market capacity

The Ellensburg Downtown Association will present their recommendations at the June 20^th special Council meeting and the Council is scheduled to hear the proposed permitting ordinance at their regularly scheduled council meeting on Monday June 25^th. 

For more information contact the Ellensburg Downtown Association at 509-962-6246 or by email at info@ellensburgdowntown.org

 The following two pages contain the proposed mitigation provisions in detail

Ellensburg Downtown Association

Proposal to Mitigate the Impact of Regional Retail

 

#1 Dedication of 30% of sales tax revenue from regional retail for downtown revitalization efforts.  This is based on the North Bend example. 

This position has been supported throughout the discussion by both the EDA Board and the council

#2 Development fees based on square footage of regional retail leasehold space payable at the time of permitting. 

This is based on the Auburn example where the Super Mall was required to make a monetary contribution directly to the Auburn Downtown Association to offset the economic impacts of that project.  This mitigation tool also helps address the need to offset the economic impact on the frond end of development instead of waiting up to a year or more after the new retail center is operating to see any mitigation funds. 

#3 Recognizing that the relocation of an existing downtown business has a more significant impact than simply added competition, we recommend that the Council reexamine the minimum leasehold storefront size of 10,000 square feet.

This proposed mitigation tool recognizes that the economic impact of a business being recruited out of Downtown has a far more significant impact than simply introducing additional competition at the edge of town.  This is a particular concern given that a number of downtown businesses have reported already being approached with regards to relocating at one or the other of the interchanges as development occurs.  The intent of this mechanism  is to ensure that existing businesses relocating to the interchanges can expand to a size that will generate increased retail sales rather than merely reallocate  existing sales.  Furthermore, by establishing a minimum size for leasehold storefronts, this mechanism provides a disincentive to developers who may otherwise find it easier to recruit new tenants from across town rather than across the pass. 

This particular tool is consistent with the comp plan and with the often-cited desire for business retention in the Downtown, and it is a safeguard for the city. Additionally, this tool is supported by the state in their letter dated June 15, 2007

Much of the discussion and the planning to allow for regional retail to develop at the Interchanges has been driven by the belief that this new development will capture new retail sales and generate new sales tax revenue.  It is in the City’s best interest to ensure that the regional retail development performs as intended and not just rearrange existing sales.  This is of particular importance given the Councils support for the dedication of a portion of the sales tax generated by this new development. 

#4 Recommend that the City require an Economic Impact Analysis for any proposed Regional Retail development prior to issuing any such permit. 

The City’s own economic study, conducted as part of the comprehensive plan update, indicates market capacity for between 200,000 and 300,000 maximum square feet of Regional Retail and the proposed ordinance would generate roughly 430,000 square feet of retail space per project, or nearly twice what the City’s own study indicates market support for, based on the minimum project size for Regional Retail development of 40 acres and assuming a density of 25% lot coverage. It simply does not make sense that the minimum development size should be twice the market capacity.