Agenda - Planning Commission - 02/02/2006

Home

than 12 months. Applicants must post a bond valued at t~o percent of the present cost for demolishing a similar building and have it renewed each year under threat of business license non-renewaL When vacancy surpasses ~2 months, the city can use the money from tho bond to demolish the structure. Opponents of demolitioo bonds argue that big box retail in unfairly targeted. Indeed. annual renewal is burdensome and creates higher administrative posts. Also, there is the question of the party responsible far paying and maintaining the bond-- the landowner. building owner, or retailer? [n some cases, big box retailers lease the space. Converse(y. the retailer may own the building Put lease the land. ~nally, planners need a methodoto~/for ca[cuta;ing demolition fees, considering Ihe basis for the fee {e.g.. demolition costs per square foot versus a fiat fee) and assurances of the bond's capacity to cover the costs of demolition. Also. should other building types be considered? White elephant ordinances. This year, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, adopted an ordinance requiring big bo~ retailers to set aside demoli- tion money in case of abandonment. The ordi- nance requires proiects with 50,000 or more square feet of retail to contribute to the city's Land Conservation Fund prio[ to issuing a building permit, The fee is $o.zo per square foot of ~etail space. Community Development Director Nancy Welch says a Exed cost was st[ongly supported bv the development ,:om- amount that could be included in the develop- ment costs for the site." The property owner or operator must submit a plan for the removal or reuse of the facility within sA months of clo- sure. The city uses the fund when there is a failure to provide a plan for redevelopment of AS a result, some titles work diligently with [arse-scaie retailers to find viable uses once the buitding gets vacated. When Wal-Mart plans to dose a store. the company notifies the mayor and economic deve(opment officials approximately Ho years in advance. When the city identifies a future tenant. Wal-Mart works with local aniJ state economic deve(opment o ffic[al~ to create an incentive package. For example, when the company announced plans to dose a store near Mobile, Alabama. [t worked with staff from the local chamber of commerce to find a replacement for the site. The St. Francis- Thomas Medical Center was rooking for a flexi- ble space with ample parking. The result was the transformation of an az,boo-square-foot former Wal-Mart store into a center for outpa- tient services, radiation therapy, and other medical uses. The conversion was expensive, however, with renovation costs reaching nearly $1oo per square foot, according to Larry Patrick. manager of economic development for ZONINGPRACTlCE tz.os