At the July 28 meeting Wheat Ridge City Council set a public hearing to discuss changing the requirements and language of two of the city’s business incentive programs, the Business Development Zone Program and the Enhanced Sales Tax Incentive Program.
The Business Development Zone Program or BDZ is a program in which the council may waive building permit fees and building use taxes for developers and businesses creating projects that generate or expand sales tax revenue for the city, provide jobs for the community and expand the availability or consumption of goods within Wheat Ridge.
Much like tax increment financing, the Enhanced Sales Tax Incentive Program (ESTIP) allows the city to share back sales tax increment — or the increase in tax revenue due to the renewal of an area or business — with the developer so long as the project or business meets similar criteria to the BDZ.
According to staff documents, these programs were originally introduced in 2002 and some of the wording of the programs needs to be updated.
First, the city is increasing the amount of sales tax revenue that a project needs to generate in order to qualify for ESTIP. Council will look at increasing the minimum tax revenue generated from $5,000 to $10,000.
Both programs refer to an application requirement, yet there is no application process. City Council will look at changing the language from application to agreement. The programs also reference an outdated earmark that no longer exists and so council will look to remove that from the wording.
Finally, council will decide on whether to adopt a schedule for how much fees and use taxes the city will waive for BDZ projects, based on private investments. First off, the minimum investment to qualify for the program is $250,000. For investments greater than $250,000 up to $499,999, the city will provide a rebate of up to 25 percent on charges, fees and taxes. That percentage increases to 50 for investments greater than half a million up to $999,999, and to 75 percent for investments exceeding one million.
Council will hold the hearing Aug. 11.