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| Incentives should be fair to all businesses |
Matt Hankins |
Friday, November 6, 2009
By JOEL TURNER - Staff Writer
The members of the Rocky Mount Planning Commission believe that an arts and culture district could be a good marketing tool to help attract businesses into vacant buildings in downtown and uptown.
"The concept is good, but the details are important," said John Speidel, a commission member.
Speidel said town officials need to avoid inequities that could result if tax breaks are given to new businesses without considering breaks for existing businesses.
"I think it (an arts and culture district) could be a real good thing," said Bobby Cundiff, a commission member.
But Cundiff, like Speidel, said the town needs to consider incentives for existing business and landlords as well as new businesses.
Commissioner Derwin Hall suggested that an arts and culture district could be a tool to attract more restaurants with live music. This would boost meals tax revenue for the town, Hall said.
Janet Stockton, chairwoman of the planning commission, said the town needs to establish incentives that are fair to all businesses and property owners, both new and existing businesses.
The planning commission held a work session Wednesday night to begin work on the details of an arts and culture district.
The idea of such a district surfaced at a recent joint meeting of the town council and planning commission.
Town Manager James Ervin said an arts and culture district could stimulate retail development and growth in Rocky Mount.
It would be a tool to help recruit and retain retail businesses for vacant buildings in the town, he added.
The Virginia General Assembly has passed legislation that authorizes localities to create arts and cultural districts "for the purpose of increasing awareness and support for the arts and culture in the locality."
The law allows localities to grant tax incentives and provide regulatory flexibility in an arts and culture district.
Matt Hankins, assistant town manager and community development, said the state law gives localities flexibility in drawing the boundaries for such a district and the type of financial and tax incentives that can be offered.
These incentives could include breaks on meals taxes, real estate taxes, business licenses, utility connection fees and others.
The commission members agreed with Hankins that such a district should be limited, at least initially, to the core area of downtown and uptown.
The commission members asked Hankins and the town staff to make recommendations on the types of tax and financial incentives that should be offered.
Hankins said he will develop recommended incentives.
Cundiff said the tax breaks should last no longer than three years.
Town officials have said that the tax breaks and financial incentives could be used to attract art shops, art studios, restaurants that have music programs, bookstores that sell literature, and other similar arts-related businesses.
An arts and culture district could be "part of a strategy to help prop up retail businesses," Ervin said, during difficult economic times.
An arts and cultural district would operate similar to enterprise zones in which localities can offer tax incentives to attract new industries, Ervin said.
Although the tax breaks would mean the loss of tax revenues for town for a short period, the new businesses would fill vacant buildings, create jobs and generate new tax revenue in the future, town officials said.
Katie McElroy, executive director of the Community Partnership for Revitalization, said earlier that an arts and cultural district could help attract tourists and visitors to the town. Such visitors tend to stay longer and spend more money. That would boost economic activity and generate more tax revenue, she added. |
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