Increase City revenues with new industry, business, jobs, and environmentally sustainable development

By Jyl Lutes

Building environmentally-sustainable neighborhoods, opportunities for new retail and commercial projects,and attracting higher-paying jobs, will increase needed revenue sources required to maintain stabilty of City's General Fund Budget and expand public services for residents.

Given these factors, city leaders need to find new sources of revenue, and budget reductions, in order to provide for the increasing demand for quality community services. With the City's high dependency on retail sales tax, expanded and new retail opportunities and higher-paying job creation will be a crucial component for developing new revenue sources.
Our "future growth area" has the greatest potential of providing Salinas with desperately needed new revenue. Located north of Boronda Road, this area, designated for development, will be a model of environmentally sensitive neighborhood design, and will provide significant land availability for business and commercial development. Based on the New Urbanist (international urban planning movement which reforms the design of neighborhoods so as to raise the quality of life and standard of living by building better places to live) policies formalized in the 2002 General Plan Update, we have a unique opportunity to attract visionary architects, builders and developers who will create walkable, mixed-use, neighborhood-friendly design within walking distance to shops, schools, entertainment, and civic facilities. A new library and new schools will be built in this growth area, along with new retail business, industry, and commercial opportunities.
This newly annexed growth area will provide both needed housing and job opportunities, AND direct growth away from valuable agricultural land, discourage sprawl, preserve open space, and extend public services to the north-east areas of Salinas.