Remarks by Javier Fernández
827 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 30 of 34
“Okay. Let's move on then. We've got two discussion items, Madam Clerk. If you can read M1 and M2 for the record, please.”
“Okay. Let's take up the schedule quickly. Does everyone have a copy? Okay. Any questions regarding the dates? Again, we're looking at June 9th as being the only meeting in June, July 7th and 21st, and then August 18th as the sole meeting in August, and then budget hearings on the 8th and 22nd of September, as well as our regular city commission meeting. Commissioner Rodriguez, do you recognize me for a comment or question?”
“I think we need a trim meeting, correct, for July?”
“What are the dates we anticipate we're going to get the CRA items to come back? Because that's the only, I think those are the dates that, that's the one item that's going to, I guess, come back this summer. And so I'm trying to understand from a scheduling perspective, I just want to make sure that we're keeping that program on task. I have no problem canceling the July 7th meeting. Maybe we just preserve the June 23rd meeting as an option if we need it. No, you already have a conflict?”
“Okay. Do we anticipate to you or the city attorney needing to preserve the July 7th date to make sure we take up any items related to the CRA and or I think Sunset Place had some items that were possibly coming through as well.”
“When is it scheduled to go to the county commission or the county's planning board?”
“OK. I'm fine with the schedule. I just, you know, we may, to preview things to come, we may have a request from Sunset Place, I think, to possibly take up a zoning modification. And I know their schedule was tracking late June to the middle of July. So my only concern is making sure we get the CRA adopted in place before the summer's over. OK. Anyone want to move the calendar as presented?”
“Yes, I would say yes because we I think we've got it Any objection if we if we need to call a meeting we will I mean but for now I have no problem canceling. Okay, so show the will show the schedule modified with the cancellation of the July 7th meeting”
“Yeah, the circle meeting dates are here. I guess these are key dates that they've identified in the back. Okay. But the actual meeting dates are on the 2026 calendar. So we'll just show, again, so everyone's on the same page, us eliminating the July 7th date. Okay?”
“We don't need a formal motion, correct, Madam Clerk?”
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
“Yeah, I'll just quickly build on that. It's my way of background. So one of the issues we have is when we drafted the TDR ordinance, frankly, it was not my intent to. We set up the district. We set up where they can go. I DID NOT REALIZE WHEN WE ADOPTED THAT WE WERE ACTUALLY REQUIRING US TO APPROVE THE USE OF THEM, RIGHT? I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO DECIDE FROM THE MENU OF PUBLIC BENEFITS OPTIONS WHETHER THEY'RE GOING TO CHOOSE OPTION A, B, C, OR D. AND SO I THINK THIS LANGUAGE PUTS US CLOSER TO THAT WHICH IS AN OPEN MENU. and you can choose to satisfy your public benefit…”
“I don't know that... I mean, we had a long conversation about this when we talked about the policy, right? What can we do to stop landlords from being, you know, excessively aggressive with the rents? And the truth is, there's really not much, right? So I think we had that conversation ad nauseum when we discussed this initially. You know, I think just like it's hard to dictate, you know, what someone does with their private property as to a particular use, whether they want to have student housing or they want to have market rate housing or sell for sale product or, you know, have affordable…”
“I don't, yeah, I don't. It's one opinion.”
“I mean, I think the reason we require the improvements is so that they don't get a benefit and never reinvest back into the building. Yes. And have the buildings obviously suffer wage because, correct. So that's why there's that nexus. But I understand the sensitivity. I don't know. I'm open to an idea how to address it. And again, this is a discussion item. So that's what we're here for. Yes, sir.”
“Mr. Chair, I guess what you're looking for is feedback. So whether we should take this to the planning board for discussion?”
“Anything we'd like to modify or add as it was presented, correct? Correct. Colleagues, do we want to make a referral? What's the pleasure of the board?”
“A little bit more time to come up with the cash, honestly. Again, this is not the last time we're going to see it. The question is we can send it over, come back, and choose to make the modification or not make it.”
“So I would tell you in other jurisdictions where people pay plenty of benefits, they probably pay them concurrent with getting their building permit. So ours is probably a little bit atypical and more aggressive in terms of the timing.”
“Why don't we anything under the sun that comes back to us from that word? Correct.”
“All we're deciding is whether we want to send it or not or whether we want to kill this baby in the crib. That's basically it. Oh, okay.”
“So Madam Commissioner, I think just to build on the City Attorney's comment. The question is, you have one building, right, that is in the buffer area, but the building, it's all one integrated unit, one integrated building, but a portion is outside. If they're improving the entirety of the building, should they get credit for the improvements made to the portion outside the buffer area? I think that the effect of the change would be to allow them to get credit for the improvements to that as well. So they could sell more TDRs.”
“But the TDRs, again, to clarify, are they calculated based on the totality of the property or just the square footage within the buffer area?”
“It would not change the amount of TDRs that you can sell? It would just allow them to, assuming, claim more of them sooner?”
“Do you have another question? I'll just go down the line. Mr. Vice Mayor.”