[Calclg-l] Fiscal Impacts of mills Act - Town of Danville

Thu Dec 20 09:50:31 PST 2007

In Danville, our General Plan policies & zoning ordinance strongly
support preservation and we do not sweat the very minor fiscal impact.
Our Council already made a commitment to use an incentive approach to
preservation, so they do not begrudge requests for contracts. We are a
small shop with a small inventory; therefore we do not need to limit our
Mills Act contracts (that would be a nice problem!) We roll out the red
carpet here for our historic property owners. 

As an example, the last building to be privately purchased and
rehabilitated was a dilapidated Italianate home on a prominent corner of
our downtown. The Town looked into buying it and rehabbing; it would
have been about at least $2 million for us to do it, and you know how
estimates always seem to end up being higher in reality. The new owners
did the work, and spared no expense; they received a Mills Act contract,
fiscal impact to the Town was calculated at $7,300 annual.  $7,300 vs $2
million.... :)

The completion of the rehab of the home by a private party has also
really injected a lot of pride and good will for our preservation
program.

I say go for it; enlist the help of your commission or volunteers or
interns if possible to overcome/assist staffing issues or time
limitations. Also note the lien date for the assessor's office is
January 1st. If you want to impact the 2008 tax bill, the contract must
be executed and recorded prior to Jan 1, 2008.

Best regards,

Catarina Kidd, AICP
Associate Planner
Town of Danville, California
(925) 314-3372

	-----Original Message-----
	From: calclg-l-bounces at ohp.parks.ca.gov
[mailto:calclg-l-bounces at ohp.parks.ca.gov] On Behalf Of Cronin, Jeff
	Sent: December 20, 2007 8:38 AM
	To: calclg-l at ohp.parks.ca.gov
	Subject: Re: [Calclg-l] Fiscal Impacts of mills Act

	In Pasadena, we are required to report annually to the City
Council on the loss of revenue, and there is a cap on the total annual
amount.  We have been well below this amount each year, and the Council
recently approved increasing the number of annual contracts to 20
single-family houses and six commercial/mixed-use.  Like Glendale, our
experience is that the program primarily benefits owners of high-end
houses, even though we have the following criteria for "priority
consideration" when reviewing applications: 

	 a) Substantially contribute to the preservation of a historic
resource <http://cityofpasadena.net/zoning/P-8.html#HISTORICRESOURCE>
threatened by abandonment, deterioration, or conflicting regulations
<http://cityofpasadena.net/zoning/P-8.html#REGULATIONS> , enhance
opportunities for maintaining or creating affordable housing, and
facilitate preservation and maintenance of a property in cases of
economic hardship. 

	(b) Support substantial reinvestment in a historic resource
<http://cityofpasadena.net/zoning/P-8.html#HISTORICRESOURCE>  and
rehabilitation of a historic structure
<http://cityofpasadena.net/zoning/P-8.html#STRUCTURE>  in the expanded
State Enterprise Zone and other areas where the City
<http://cityofpasadena.net/zoning/P-8.html#CITY>  is concentrating
resources on facade improvements, home rehabilitation, or similar
revitalization efforts. 

	Jeff Cronin

________________________________

	From: calclg-l-bounces at ohp.parks.ca.gov
[mailto:calclg-l-bounces at ohp.parks.ca.gov] On Behalf Of Foy, Tim
	Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 3:22 PM
	To: calclg-l at ohp.parks.ca.gov
	Subject: Re: [Calclg-l] Fiscal Impacts of mills Act

	The loss in City tax dollars probably is low.  However, cities
receive only a small share of property taxes.  The larger share goes to
schools and county governments, which are notoriously strapped for money
in providing health and welfare services to the poorest people in our
communities.  The absolute amount of money may not be large in the
context of those budgets, but the transfer of resources from the
neediest to the wealthiest has always bothered me.  I've gotten phone
calls from prospective homebuyers about local register eligibility
because a Mills Act contract would really help them make the payments on
that $1.4 million house.   It has led me to make sure that properties
are truly qualified for our local register before I'll recommend
approval.

	-----Original Message-----
	From: calclg-l-bounces at ohp.parks.ca.gov
[mailto:calclg-l-bounces at ohp.parks.ca.gov] On Behalf Of Pechous, Jim
	Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 3:04 PM
	To: calclg-l at ohp.parks.ca.gov
	Subject: Re: [Calclg-l] Fiscal Impacts of mills Act

		Meg,

		If you do the math the actual loss in City tax dollars
is very low especially if you factor in the return which is the
projection of City historic resources.   Prior to the Mills Act we had a
much higher percentage of people attempting to delist their property or
to demolition their historic structure.  This is by far our best
historic preservation incentive our City has, and we have many.  The
only pitfall I can think of is that it will take staff time to process
and manage your mills act contracts.  One way to reduce tax burden, if
that is a concern, and to reduce a sudden impact to your staff work load
is to limit the number of contracts allowed per year.  We limit our
contract to five the first three quarters of the year.   Our program has
been in existence for over 10 years and we have a little over 50 active
contracts.  

		Good luck!

		Jim

		Jim Pechous

		Principal Planner, Planning Division

		City of San Clemente

		910 Calle Negocio  Suite 100

		San Clemente, CA 92673

		Phone:   (949)361-6195

		Fax:     (949)366-4750

		Email:  pechousj at san-clemente.org

		Website:
http://www.san-clemente.org/sc/Standard.aspx?PageID=255
<http://www.san-clemente.org/sc/Standard.aspx?PageID=255> 

		From: calclg-l-bounces at ohp.parks.ca.gov
[mailto:calclg-l-bounces at ohp.parks.ca.gov] On Behalf Of Clovis, Meg
x4913
		Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 2:42 PM
		To: calclg-l at ohp.parks.ca.gov
		Subject: [Calclg-l] Fiscal Impacts of mills Act

		The County of Monterey is considering implementing the
Mills Act but would like input from other jurisdictions re: adverse
affects due to reduced property tax revenues. In addition, any advice
about pitfalls to avoid would be appreciated.

		Thanks for your assistance - 

		Meg Clovis 
		Cultural Affairs Manager 
		Monterey County Parks 

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