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Analysis of Commercial Zoning along the TH 371 Alternate Alignment <br />Commercial zoning along the Highway 371 Alternate Alignment would cost the City financially <br />substantially more than it would bring in tax revenue. To develop the properties along the Alternate <br />Alignment commercially, the most optimistic scenario would have the City enacting a substantial tax <br />increase on all taxpayers, just to get municipal utilities to the properties. <br />Such a move would not address issues the City has with maintaining existing infrastructure in the <br />downtown, for which a substantial financial obligation already exists. It would also place existing <br />businesses in the difficult position of subsidizing competing enterprises on the periphery of the City's <br />commercial area at a time when they are undergoing the financial stress of transitioning from the <br />economics of a through -town alignment to that of an alternate route. <br />To protect the investments of those that have committed to City of Pequot's downtown, City policy <br />should focus on keeping tax rates low while striving to undertake those endeavors that strengthen <br />existing businesses and create a regulatory environment where compatible and complementary <br />enterprises can flourish. The obligations of maintaining the current infrastructure in the downtown are <br />daunting as it is. Maintaining these assets, while making better use of them, is critical to the long -term <br />financial health of the City. <br />Analysis <br />If the property along the alternate alignment is to be developed commercially, it can either be done with <br />municipal utilities (sewer and water) or without city utilities. Both of these alternatives have been <br />examined, with the following offered for consideration. <br />With Municinal Utilities <br />The Comprehensive Plan and the City's ordinances require that any property not currently zoned <br />Commercial needs to be served by municipal utilities before the zoning would be changed. <br />If the City is to proceed with extending municipal utilities, the City Engineer has indicated that it will cost <br />an estimated $1,526,000 to extend the utilities across the new highway alignment. This does not include <br />the cost to run the utilities along the corridor, but simply to get them across in order to make that <br />possible. <br />We assume that the City would not pay cash for this improvement. To borrow the money, at a rate of <br />4% over 20 years, the annual payment for the City would be $115,000. <br />1 <br />