In an article today in the Shawnee Dispatch on line
http://www.shawneedispatch.com/news/2010/may/12/public-hearing-casts-doubts-ten-quivira-plaza-plan/ the following item was mentioned:
Council member Jeff Vaught showed some support for the district, saying most shoppers weren’t aware of sales tax rates in the various locations where they shopped. He noted The Legends in Kansas City, Kan., was one of the most successful shopping centers in the area but had one of the highest sales tax rates.
Well, let's look at it this way: The Legends ( Village West) may have one of the highest tax rates. But, that is exactly the type of location that the CID needs to be used for. A destination location, that will rely mostly on transient spending as opposed to a local neighborhood shopping center.........especially one with the major tenant being a grocery store. (See my blog post below with the reference to the Journal of the Kansas Bar Association)
I'm also concerned about this comment in the Dispatch:
Council members in support of the district said voting against it would be a step backwards in the city’s efforts to increase commercial development and send a negative message for developers.
What is the definition of commercial development? Is that office buildings, manufacturing facilities, even hotels or does that include neighborhood shopping centers?
Interesting how the two council reps (Kuhn & Vaught) who seemed to be in favor of this would have the least (if any) residents affected by a sales tax increase at Ten Quivira. And their ward (Ward 3) probably has the highest per capita income in the city, and the least number of retired and fixed income folks.
