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@) Gorham (cont): conflict of inte:eest, but in order not to get the Council into a legal question, he sought the advised of the Attorney General. I think that, then, would be an answer to paragraph L. e Oliphant: Did you want to be placed under oath, Mr. Gorham? END OF SECOND TAPE BARBERA LUKEm1ANN: Then there will be a substancial reason to take another very hard and comprehensive look at the plan to provide for the anticipated. Oliphant: Do you consider it important that the planning commission and the City Council look into the financial condition of a developer prior to rezoning property of this scale? Lukerman: It is not mandatory under the law for the Council to require, this, however, it is very desirable to have an understanding of crediabi1ity of past performance of a developer, but, I think, even more than that, I think it is very important that a community be provided with detail plans of any proposed developer., ~haa:;specify solutions to the problems that will be incurred and that it is very important that the planning commission and Council is satisfied. That the problems can be resolved. The problems will not create a new financial burden upon the general tax-payers. Oliphant: One of the issues before the Planning Commission and City Council was the financial benefit to the community of the development. During the course of your work, have you been involved in, well, first of all, there is a figure of 20 million dollars or something like that used. I believe in the? rules brief there is a figure of 20 million dollars which is used. Would you explain to the Council wehre that is used in the proper brief and what that figure means, if anything. eLukerman: On page 16 A there is a comparison chart providing essentially a cost benefit summary of the proposed development in terms of the tax impact of developing the 93 acreas of property for single family detached housing as'compared to the preposed commercial development, and I imagine, what is the current mill-rate applied in each of these instances. In reviewing this, I looked at the 20 million dollars worth of proposed investment for commercial development, and I read this very carefully, and I found with- in the brief no substantiation of documentation whatsoever in terms of square footage of building that would be proveded, of estimated cost per square foot for example to substantiate that figure of 20 million dollars. And, I suppose, it hit me quite forceably because within the last year, I have just completed a very detailed economic study for the reuse of the Minneapolis Moline Center in Minneapolis. I don't know if you:may be familiar with that location on Lake Street and Hiawatha. It is approximately 26 acreas and the developer we were working with (this time we were working 1-Ti th the developer) and the proposal before the City Council was to develop 300,000 square feet of retail space with Target as a major tenant. And, we had a detailed appraisal done of the project by Shannon and Goodwin Firm(?) an~he total value of the project with land valued at $2.00 a square foot came out 10 mill~on 600 thousand dollars. And, to me, the contrast of the figure 20 million without the benefit of documentation, I began to question and I began to feel that it would be incumbant upon the City, if indeed the tax benefit considerations are very important to you and perhaps that you granted it on the basis of such a chart in here that there would be better documentation. In other words, I have no evidence to say it was wrong because I do not have the information available to me. But, on the basis of professional work, I've done, I think I would like to say to you that I would question it and "lish to have further documentation. In as much as a conclusion was reached from this, are that a substancial tax gain can be accrtueEl to the community thru commercial development. But it should be noted in each .'nstance there is no cost subtracted from such a comparison for such things as police nd fire. Again as preparation for coming before you this evening as I felt that you would be more interested in facts than opinions, I then, had a detailed discussion with the City Manager of Minnetonka, a community that just recently has been going thru the throes of acconnodating a large major retail facility. He said that the City is going to have to put out another $100,000.00 for fire protection. It is going to have to add