The Sandy Springs City Council has updated its economic incentive program to attract retailers and hospitality providers and promote affordable housing.
Economic development incentives historically focused on projects with at least $1 million in capital improvements, according to a staff report to the council.
The updated program seeks stores and hospitality businesses for targeted redevelopment areas. It has three tiers: jobs created (5, 10 or 15 or more), capital investment ($250,000, $500,000 or $750,000), and years committed (four, seven or 10). As incentives, the business tax could be waived for one, two or three years, respectively; permits, expedited; and building and impact fees, waived.
For affordable housing, the city will consider waiving permit and impact fees for projects of at least 150 units, with at least 20 percent for households earning no more than 120 percent of the city’s annual median income; or, that will replace at least 150 existing rental units, with no less than 75 percent of the units intended for homeownership.
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