ARIZONA DAILY STAR:  Weds., Feb. 11, 2009

Fracas over fee waivers rocks council

By Rob O’Dell

 

A proposal to cut development impact fees to spur the economy instead turned into a unanimous City Council vote Tuesday to appoint a committee to study ways to create jobs for Tucson.  No action was taken on the proposal by Councilman Rodney Glassman to suspend impact fees for one year, but the topic will be included in the 15-member group's deliberations, which are supposed to be complete in 30 days.

However, two council members — Karin Uhlich and Regina Romero — criticized the fee waiver being part of the discussion, with Romero calling for it to be withdrawn from consideration.  Some council members used an acrimonious hour-plus discussion of the issue to personally criticize Glassman for bringing the idea up in the media before discussing it with them. Several complained they had been working on proposals to stimulate the economy for months, suggesting Glassman was trying to usurp them.

The council tentatively would like to consider recommendations from the hastily created study group at the March 10 council meeting. The council agreed the committee will have at least 15 members drawn from as many segments of the community as possible, including Habitat for Humanity, Southern Arizona Home Builders Association and Sustainable Tucson.

 

FULL STORY:   http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/279757