The City Council has proposed a Public Inconvenience Fee that charges private developers for every linear foot of sidewalk, parking lane, and traffic lane closed during a construction project. (Read more about this here and here).
The Loop CID Board does have concerns about any proposal that would dampen future development and although most current construction projects have avoided closing down sections of the Business Loop, we did attend the Downtown Leadership Council's (DLC) public hearing last night to testify.
Our concerns include:
1) Exempting public/governmental bodies (such as utilities, MODOT, CIDs) from this fee when they are undertaking public improvement projects. - ADDRESSED
2) Offering private, non-profit colleges the same exemptions as Columbia Public Schools and MU.
3) Charging a city fee for activities on a MODOT owned road.
4) Given that this is largely a downtown issues, some type of tiered system that recognizes that road space is less limited along the Business Loop than downtown and that even closing one lane for construction will still allow traffic to flow.
5) Some type of consideration for private developments that also improve the public space, such as sidewalks, sewer infrastructure, etc.
The DLC will be discussing this and making a recommendation to Council. We will keep everyone posted on this issue but in the meantime, if you would like to weigh in, you can email both the Downtown Leadership Council and the City Council.
