Commercial Construction Fee Opponents Push for Repeal

Opponents of a fee increase on commercial construction in city of San Diego today touted a letter from two Oceanside councilmen as a reason to repeal the new rate structure.

The message issued Wednesday by Oceanside Councilmen Gary Felien and Jerry Kern was titled an "Open Letter to San Diego Business Owners" and welcomed them to move their establishments north.

They said Oceanside is "business-friendly," has no hidden fees, will offer assistance in getting state incentives and has available buildings and land.

A group led by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce is trying to collect enough signatures to force the San Diego City Council to repeal the fee hikes or place them before voters.

The increases, approved late last year, are on fees that provide funds for affordable housing projects. While the city's overall fee on the total construction cost is doubling, opponents say some types of businesses would be charged increases of more than 700 percent, while making only a minimal impact on San Diego's affordable housing shortage.

The opponents label the increases a "jobs tax." They have until Jan. 23 to collect enough signatures to force the City Council's hand.

"The active effort on behalf of Oceanside and other cities to recruit San Diego businesses is a prime example of how the jobs tax is hurting the city's economy," former San Diego Mayor and current chamber President and CEO Jerry Sanders said. "As the only city in the county imposing this jobs tax, businesses have significant incentive to move outside the city to avoid facing an additional 375 to 750 percent tax and an unfriendly business climate."

Interim Mayor Todd Gloria -- who supports the increases and calls it one part of a package of strategies to deal with the affordable housing shortage - - was traveling and not immediately available for comment.

It was reported last week that several cities have approached Qualcomm, the giant provider of technology for mobile devices, about moving out of San Diego.

The fee increase is one of two actions taken by the City Council on 5-4 party-line votes that business leaders consider to be unfriendly.

The other is an update to the zoning plan for Barrio Logan. Opponents contend that a buffer zone placed between the economically disadvantaged community's residential and industrial areas could eventually push shipyard suppliers out of the area.

The shipyards collected enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, so the City Council scheduled it for the June election.

Supporters of the zoning changes, including Councilman and mayoral candidate David Alvarez, say it was a reasonable compromise brought about by five years of work with community members.

-- City News Service