Here are some of the promises / reasons the developers use when justifying their own ordinance, a petition drive, and a ballot initiative without city review:

The developers promise that they will generate over $2 million dollars annually to the City of Hudson with over $1 million of this tax revenue going to the schools annually.

• Numbers are inconsistent with studies of similar developments done by the Northeast Ohio Regional Retail Analysis.

• There is no source provided for their economic data.

• The developer estimates retail jobs at 3.6 jobs per 1000 SF.  The Northeast Ohio Study based job estimates on a rate of 2.5 jobs per 1000 SF.  The numbers appear to be inflated by at least 385 jobs.

• The ordinance cites a minimum of 40 acres.  The developer promises a value of $60 million.

          Marketplace at Four Corners in Bainbridge = 600,000 SF, 115 acres, valued at $32.8 million.

          Uptown Solon, valued at $17.5 million

          Promenade of Westlake, $25.8 million

          Great Northern Mall, owner claims worth $38.5 million

          Again, the Promenade numbers appear to be inflated.

Sources: Cuyahoga County Auditor, Geauga County Auditor

• If the numbers are inflated or just incorrect, the subsequent promises of tax generation are suspect also.

• When asked by the Board of Education on Oct. 11, 2004 to guarantee an annual payment amount, the developers refused.  Big difference between a promise and a guarantee.  This is also not included in the referendum - they can make promises, but don't want to be accountable for them.

Because this is a private development, the city will NOT provide landscaping, snow removal, or trash services to our development.

• This is not a "benefit" of the proposed development.  It is standard practice for private developers to provide their own landscaping, snow removal, and trash services in their shopping centers. 

The City will provide no tax abatement or tax increment financing for this project.  The money generated in property taxes will immediately go to the schools and into our community.

• So far, the Cities of Hudson and Stow have spent $5.6 million of your tax dollars to improve the Norton-Seasons corridor.  Additional funds have been committed but not yet expended so the amount continues to grow.  This purpose of this project is to improve access for economic development as envisioned by the Comprehensive Plan and current zoning, not to build another Howe Road.  We are poised to construct an interchange at Route 8.  Federal and State funding sources are expected along with a significant public commitment from both communities.  The developer stands to benefit from this public investment.

The developers promise to provide Hudson residents with tax relief.

• Hudson residents do need tax relief but not all economic development offers equal economic benefit.  It is well documented that light industry, neighborhood-scaled retail and office provide the greatest economic benefit, not mass-market retail.  Shopping centers are a depreciating asset that we cannot count on for the long run.  The Plain Dealer recently reported that shopping centers and malls often request property valuation adjustments that have devastating impacts on our schools.  The owners of Great Northern Mall contend that their value has dropped from $64.3 million to $39.5 million.  North Olmsted schools now stand to lose almost $1.5 million.

• When they promise "tax relief," are they suggesting that by voting for rezoning that our taxes will go down?  No existing tax millage will be removed as a result of this vote.

• When property taxes are evaluated as a percent of income, Hudson comes in solidly in the middle 8^th out of 17 school districts in Summit County, lower than Woodridge, Springfield, Coventry, Green, Nordonia Hills, Manchester, and Twinsburg. (Tax Year 2000 School Tax Effort, Ohio Department of Taxation).

• The State of Ohio which has ruled that funding schools through property taxes is unconstitutional is attempting to develop another formula for school funding.  If the new funding source for schools is insufficient, and the Hudson School District needs another levy, will the zoning revert?  No.  Too late.  Will we fall prey to the school funding promise?

• Implying that this project will be the answer to funding our schools can have disastrous results.  If voters get this false impression, they may never again support another school levy.

The developers promise to provide the amenities and incentives for businesses to locate to the area and the amenities to keep them here.

• The City of Hudson, working with City of Stow and State of Ohio, has spent years and substantial financial resources laying the groundwork for a sound development strategy in this quadrant.  Access is the key, not shopping centers.  The City's plan for the Norton-Seasons Road Corridor with an interchange at Route 8 is a bold pronouncement that Hudson is receptive to business.  Implementation of the elements of the Rt. 91 corridor study is another means of improving local access.  We cannot afford to negate this investment by allowing the area to become saturated with depreciating shopping centers and low wage retail jobs.

• The developers have always the right to build these "amenities" in this area of town.  According to the City's Community Development Dept, the current zoning allows retail, restaurant and personal service establishments.  A restaurant as big as the CVS store is permitted now.  The bank and pizza place that went in just south of Orchard Plaza would be permitted now in this area.

In 2002, the City of Hudson ranked 50^th out of 52 cities in Northeastern Ohio in terms of commercial growth.

• We all are aware that joint city and State projects take time to develop.  The developer is looking to exploit the investment we have made in the Norton Road area.

• Hudson wants the right kind of development, providing the greatest long-term economic benefit to the community.  The bar is a bit higher here and Hudson voters should not be so desperate as to allow developers to write ordinances to force their shortsighted vision of commercial growth.

• We have all seen various "rankings" of this, that, or the other.  But you need more information to understand the rankings.  A community with a small commercial base can zoom to the top of the list by just having a few projects occur during the evaluation period.  Conversely, a community with a large commercial base and steady incremental growth ranks low because the total amount of growth, while significant, represents a smaller percentage of the base.

The 10,000 SF retail building limitation in Districts 8 and 9 is not consistent with other similarly situated cities.  What about JoAnn Fabrics?

• Right!  Hudson's rules for development are not the same as similarly situated cities.  Why is that?  Because Hudson has made an intentional decision to value the unique character of our community and prevent it from becoming "anyplace USA". 

• Businesses built earlier and grand-fathered into our zoning do not define the rules.  Look at development that has occurred in Hudson since the adoption of our revised Land Development Code.  The signage is limited and subtle.  The appearance of parking areas is softened and minimized.  Extensive landscaping is present.  The ordinance that the proponents of Issue 25 have written would remove these requirements from our zoning.  They delete important quality elements of our zoning yet ask us to trust them to do a good job.

• Experience has shown that developers are unlikely to install extensive landscaping, buffering or meaningful open space unless they are required by code.

• With JoAnn Fabrics, Hudson has a corporate headquarters.  If the developers were successful in securing another corporate headquarters, we believe that business should have the opportunity to establish a showcase store also.

The developers promise the project will be taken through the appropriate approval boards and commissions of the City of Hudson, if approved by the voters.

• Read the ordinance that will define the new zoning district they will create.  They promise to take THEIR ordinance to the City to show that they are abiding by it.   

• The City will have no authority to mandate any change in the proposal.  The Developer must agree or the changes do not apply.  The developer must agree?

• If the developer doesn't agree and the City doesn't act within the timeframe, THE PLAN MOVES FORWARD AS IF IT HAD BEEN APPROVED!!

Promenade of Hudson promises to have over 20 acres of gardens and public spaces and will be a trailhead on the Metro Bike and Hike trail.

• The developers can only be held to what they stipulate in their ordinance.  These promises are not in the ordinance!

Promenade of Hudson promises that it will not compete with existing Hudson enterprises, including downtown businesses.

• Retail sprawl never helps downtowns.  Retail on the periphery of a community is not economic development it is economic displacement.

• Maintaining control on the sizes of retail operations actually allows for complementary retail and effective competition.  Ask the Learned Owl if a 50,000 SF discount bookstore is complementary.  Ask All-Star Sports if a 50,000 SF national sporting good discounter is operating on a level playing field.

Promenade of Hudson promises to be a catalyst to help fill the vacant office space that currently exists in South Hudson.  Plus, it will attract additional new office development.

• These are the Top 10 factors cited by businesses for locating in an area or re-locating to a new area, as reported by Site Selection Magazine:

1. AVAILABLE WORKFORCE
2. WILLING WORKFORCE: quality, productivity, loyalty, creativity, innovation
3. EDUCATED WORKFORCE: proximity to colleges, universities, trade/technical schools, and job training assistance
4. WELCOMING Is your community targeting and welcoming certain industries?  Plastics, plastic extrusions, etc.?  Healthcare?  Companies like to be part of a total regional effort.  What are the tax incentives from the State?  Do you have/need a Foreign Trade Zone?
5. AFFORDABLE low cost of living (Someone who earns $48,000 in Pittsburgh, would need $79,000 in San Francisco, and $133,000 in New York City)
6. WIRED what is the status of the digital, ISDN, fiber optic, and common channel signaling in your community?
7. REDUNDANT SERVICES what is the likelihood of business disruption natural, accidental, or other?
8. NETWORKED is there a strong network of trade groups, support services, architects, that specialize in servicing the target industry
9. IDEALLY SITUATED proximity to airport(s), rail, direct access to highway systems.  How large an area is served by concentric circles around Hudson.
10. LIVABLE healthcare, neighborhoods, schools, culture, access to professional sports, access to big-city amenities, safety.

• A glorified strip mall with the same old stores is not a catalyst for the quality of businesses and jobs Hudson is looking to attract.

• Having the exact same stores as communities throughout the region, throughout the state, and throughout the county is NOT a competitive advantage.

Smart Growth Hudson is guilty of misrepresenting the size of the proposed District 11.  The rezoning they are proposing will only be effective in the newly created District 11.  District 11 is set by the boundaries of the Promenade project.

• Read the ordinance.  We refer you to (g) Area, Width, and Coverage Regulations, sections 3 and 4.  The district will continue to grow with the purchase of additional parcels.  There is no limit to how far this district will crawl down Route 91 or Norton Road.  The developer has highlighted an area in excess of 600 acres that he foresees as developable under his ordinance!  The proposed provision to allow expansion of the district by incorporating adjacent lots will allow this type of development to "creep" along Norton Road and Route 91.

• This statement shows an alarming lack of understanding about how zoning works.  Once you put a District "on the books" it is available to anyone.  Their ordinance specifically would permit this type of development on defined Arterial and Collector Streets.  The following streets are considered arterials: Barlow Road, Boston Mills Road, Darrow Road (Rt. 91), Hines Hill Road, Middleton Road, Norton Road, Seasons Road, Stow Road, Streetsboro Road (Rt. 303).  Collector roads are any other roads that are not arterials or local streets.

• This issue is NOT contained within a small parcel at the corner of Norton Road and Route 91.  This issue affects ALL of Hudson.  Parcel(s) near you could request a District 11 zoning also.

Promenade developers promise that this property will be developed, and the balance of the land in the southwest quadrant will eventually be developed.

• We look for the development to occur in a right and responsible way and in pursuit of the best economic interest of the community, not simply in the best interest of a developer.

• Based upon their "piggy-back" zoning ordinance, adjacent properties can be pulled into the Promenade development for Phases 2, 3, 4, or more.

• Very quickly, the initial Promenade development could expand to several hundreds of acres all subject to the original, developer-written ordinances zoning and procedures.

• The developers are admitting here that this is not just a 40+-acre proposition.

Developers promise to provide a Class A, upscale, unique project to the community.

• Nice promise, but not something they can be held to nor is it part of the Issue 25 ordinance.  We are voting on the ordinance - not promises.

• As for "unique," none of the entities promised for possible inclusion are unique to Northeast Ohio, or Summit County, or even Northern Summit County!