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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/03/2007 Blue Sheet Legislative Update TOWN COUNCIL MEETING INFORMATION TOWN OF MARANA MEETING DATE: April 3, 2007 AGENDA ITEM: L,t TO: MAYOR AND COUNCIL FROM: Michael A. Reuwsaat, Town Manager SUBJECT: State Lee:islative Issues: Discussion/Direction/Action regarding all pending bills before the Legislature DISCUSSION This item is scheduled for each regular council Meeting in order to provide an opportunity to discuss any legislative item that might arise during the current session of the State Legislature. Periodically, an oral report may be given to supplement the Legislative Bulletins. ATTACHMENTS Legislative Bulletin, Issuesll and 12. RECOMMENDATION Upon the request of Council, staff will be pleased to provide recommendations on specific legislative issues. SUGGESTED MOTION Mayor and Council's pleasure. JCB/03/26/2007/9: 16 AM League of Arizona Cities AND Towns IN THIS ISSUE Municipal Tax Incentives Preempetions To Be Heard... ........................1 Fire Service Mandate Awaits House Action .......................... ...1 Deadly Weapons Storage ............................ 2 Construction Sales Tax Bill Coming Back................................. 2 Water Bill, Water Ills ......2 Liquor Bill Remains A Concern........................... 3 Water Service Providers, Overlapping Districts....... 3 Sign Bill In The Senate.... 3 Pay Day Loan Crackdown Gets Hearing ............................3 Contractor Verification.... 4 Session Update.................4 Fixed BiIls........................4 The Weekly Spotlight ......5 Legislative Balletin is published by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns. Forward your comments or suggestions to: League of Arizona Cities & Towns 1820 West Washington Street Phoenix, Arizona 85007 Phone: 602-258-5786 Fax: 602-253-3874 Email: league@azleague.org Internet: www.azleague.org Issue 11 March 16,2007 MUNICIPAL TAX INCENTIVES PREEMPTIONS TO BE HEARD Two strike everything amendments will be heard next week that impact local ability to provide incentives for economic development in their communities, While the language is not available yet for review, we do know that the amendments will be heard on Wednesday morning in House Commerce on Senate Bill 1350 and on Wednesday afternoon in the Senate Finance Committee on House Bill 2515. The League will be sending out an alert via email to all cities and towns with a fact sheet and information on these bills early next week. In the meantime, please contact all of your legislators and ask them to oppose this preemption of your local control. FIRE SERVICE MANDATE AWAITS HOUSE ACTION House Bill 2780, the bill that will mandate that cities provide fire protection services to county islands, is on the House Committee of the Whole agenda on March 19th. Representative John McComish, the House Majority Whip, will offer an amendment which stipulates that if a county island cannot get a city or a private provider to provide fire service to the area, then the surrounding municipality must provide fire service. It also authorizes a three-person panel-made up of a fire district representative, a city representative and a third person they choose-to set the secondary property tax rate, but leaves in place the statutory limit of $3.15 per hundred dollars of valuation. The language of the amendment says this applies only to areas that do not have fire service as of January 1,2007. The provisions of the bill still apply only in Maricopa County, but this bad precedent could become statewide in the future. Conversely, Representative Tom Prezelski will offer an amendment removing the mandate on the cities. Please call your Representatives and ask them to vote against the mandate! March 16, 2007 DEADLY WEAPONS STORAGE Senate Bill 1251, which places additional restrictions on how municipalities store weapons in public buildings, passed out of the House Government Committee this week with a 5-4 vote in spite of strong opposition from many cities, towns, state agencies and law enforcement groups. This bill will be heard in the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday. This bill is a huge public safety concern; please contact your Representatives and ask them to oppose this bill when it goes to the floor. For further information, please contact Cheyenne Walsh at 602-258-5786. CONSTRUCTION SALES TAX BILL COMING BACK The House Government Committee will also utilize the controversial strike-everything amendment on Senate Bill 1544, to put on the provisions of Senate Bill 1366. The bill was brought earlier in the session by the Homebuilders Association of Central Arizona. The bill mandates that cItIes and towns dedicate HALF of ALL construction sales tax revenue to new development infrastructure if that city or town levies a construction sales tax rate that is higher than the average rate imposed on the other sales tax classifications. We need YOU to keep up the pressure on the House Government Committee for this bill as well. Please let them know that: · Sales taxes constitute the main source of general fund revenue for many small communities. · This bill could jeopardize essential services such as: o Public safety o Transportation o Trash collection. · This bill allows special interest groups to dictate the expenditures of local revenues instead of the locally elected officials. Please call Jeff Kros at the League (602- 258-5786) if you have any questions. Your input is essential. WATER BILL. WATER ILLS Senate Bill 1359 (municipal utilities; tenant nonpayment), sponsored by Senator Chuck Gray would prohibit a municipality from requiring payment by a property owner of unpaid user fees before providing new service or restoring service to a lessee of that property. Statute establishes the right of a municipality to file a lien on a property for the nonpayment of fees if the payment is more than 90 days delinquent. Currently some of our cities and towns contract with rental property owners for utilities; some contract with tenants. When an account is delinquent, it is often harder to track down tenants than the property owners. This bill would make all municipalities contract with tenants, which is particularly onerous on smaller cities and towns that do not have the resources for collection of these debts. Besides the logistical issues of going after delinquent tenant accounts, this bill is another attempt at usurping local control. It failed in House Government last week, but will return this next week on what is known as "reconsideration," where a legislator who was on the prevailing side of a vote can have the bill brought back to a subsequent hearing or floor session. Senate Bill 1359 is on House Government on Tuesday, March 20th at I :30 p.m. Contact the members below to urge their "NO" vote on this bill. 2 March 16, 2007 House Government Committee Representative Phone Email Kirk Adams, Chair 602-926-5495 kadams@azleg.{Jov Jonathan Paton, VC 602-926-3235 ioaton(i!'azleg.gov Tom Boone 602-926-3297 tboone@azleg.gov Ray Barnes 602-926-5503 rbarnes@azleo.oov Rich Crandall 602-926-3020 rcrandall @azle!!.!!ov Warde Nichols 602-926-5168 wnichols@azlel.!.l.!ov Mark A. Desimone 602-926- 303 7 mdesimone@azleg.gov Steve Farley 602-926-3022 sfarley@azleo.gov Martha Garcia 602-926-5830 mgarcia@azle{J.l!ov Lena Saradnik 602-926-3398 I saradni k@azJeu.(yov LIQUOR BILL REMAINS A CONCERN House Bill 2391, the spmtuous liquor omnibus bill, passed Senate Commerce this week, with only one "no" vote. There was heated testimony from both sides and little agreement as to the actual content of this bill. We still have major problems as to the diminishment of the Liquor Department's powers and the ability of liquor establishments to escape liability by having a safe harbor when it comes to under-age patrons. We will pursue floor action to fix this poor piece of legislation. The Arizona Trial Lawyers Association and Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), along with the cities and towns, oppose this bill in its current form because of its threat to public safety. WATER SERVICE PROVIDERS. OVERLAPPING DISTRICTS Senate Bill 1119 exempts irrigation districts from complying with local ordinances and negatively impacts water conservation efforts. It will be heard in the House Water and Agriculture Committee next Thursday, March 22nd. Please contact your Representatives and ask them to oppose this bill. SIGN BILL IN THE SENATE House Bill 2369 the temporary sign bill pushed by Representative Bob Robson, will be heard in the Senate Government Committee on Monday, March 19th at 1:30. As you may recall, this bill overrides local control over temporary signs, designates exactly how much a city or town can charge for the permits, and the collected money has to be spent on-clean-up and plants. Yes, this bill dictates that municipalities have to use the money collected for clean-up of the signs, and "the planting of flora endemic to the Southwest." Let's call our Senators and let them know that sign regulation and city landscapes are a matter of local control. PAY DAY LOAN CRACKDOWN GETS HEARING Representative Marian McClure will sponsor an amendment in her House Public Institutions and Retirement Committee (Monday, I :30 p.m.) that puts new restrictions on the controversial Pay Day Loan industry. The amendment will include: · A ban on internet loans · Limiting loans to two weeks with no rollovers · A 48-hour cooling-off period 3 March 16, 2007 Pay Day Loan Crackdown Gets Hearing Contd. . The borrower's ability to request a payment plan with interest and payment caps A registry for borrowers III the payment plan No new loans for those III the payment plan registry A 15 percent interest cap for 105 days for loans Subjects the industry to regulation by the Department of Financial Institutions An auditor position III the Department . . . . . One controversial provision is the removal of the sunset date under current law. Rep. McClure conceded that the removal of the sunset date was necessary to put the more restrictive provisions on the industry in place. Pursuant to the League's Resolution, we will support this measure as a good step toward reining in this industry. CONTRACTOR VERIFICATION Senate Bill 1483, the contractor verification bill, passed House Commerce this last week. It still needs to be heard in House Government. The bill contains a provision that cities and towns (really all public entities) must verify a contractor's license information with the Registrar of Contractors before issuing a building permit. Although some cities already verify this information, others fear that if the Registrar's information is wrong: 1) the city could be liable if a project goes wrong and someone gets hurt; or 2) if the town denies that permit, the town could be sued by the contractor. There are also concerns with the cost of compliance and the potential of logjams of red tape. Fortunately, the sponsor of the bill, Senator Tom O'Halleran, wants to meet with the stakeholders and iron out our differences. SESSION UPDATE The 2007 legislative session is moving along quickly. Final deadlines for bills to be heard in committees are fast approaching. Next week is the final week of committee meetings (other than Appropriations) in the House. The Senate committees will meet one additional week, ending the week of the 30th. We have heard that the budget process is moving along and both houses are close to reaching an agreement with the Governor's Office on a budget. Details about such an agreement have not been released and League staff anxiously awaits such reports. League staff will continue closely monitoring legislation and updating our members on the issues. We appreciate all of the cities and towns that talk to their legislators on issues that impact their communities and look forward to continuing to work with you. FIXED BILLS The cities and towns have managed to alleviate some problems this session in an effort to make sure policy decisions affecting us remain sound. Some examples: House Bill 2065 - This bill is a compromise in response to the onerous Title 34 legislation proposed by the Associated General Contractors that allows for information on local road maintenance practices to be collected and the issue to be addressed in an educated manner if needed. House Bill 2066 - This bill mandated municipalities to locate sewer laterals upon request of a utility digging in the rights of way. After months of discussions, this bill 4 March 16, 2007 Fixed Bills Contd. will not move forward while we wait for an Attorney General's Opinion on the issue. House Bill 2091 - This bill prevented municipalities from splitting parcels in annexations and special taxing district boundaries. The Association of Counties worked with the League to address our concerns and agreed to an amendment to remove the annexation preemption. Senate Bill 1286 - The victims' rights omnibus bill was the subject of a stakeholders meeting and a series of emails and now appears to have support across the board. The efforts of this workgroup, of which the League was a member, addressed our concerns. Senate Bill 1311 - The initial version stripped cities and towns of any power over channelization districts. Peoria and Buckeye worked with stakeholders to reach a compromise on notice and retained municipal authority over these districts. Senate Bill 1555 - The sex offender residency restrictions bill, a League resolution, was amended in House Human Services on March 15th to alleviate concerns that the legislation was too punitive. The amended bill passed the committee unanimously. THE WEEKLY SPOTLIGHT- REPRESENTATIVE STEVE FARLEY This week we feature Representative Steve Farley, Legislative District 28. In his first session, he has been a strong voice for the rights of municipalities. Born in Upland, California, Representative Farley is a small-business owner of a public art and graphic design company. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Williams College in Massachusetts. He and his wife Regina Kelly have two daughters, Amelia and Genevieve. How do you see local government impacting people's lives? Local government is the level of government that is closest to our citizens, and therefore is much more in tune with the thoughts and desires of the people of Arizona. Cities and towns provide the services that most directly affect our lives, and are the first places where we turn to resolve a problem. For that reason, we at the state level should stop micromanaging local governments and let them do what they do best, informed by their close contact with local citizens. What is one issue you see as particularly important to local government this session? We need to protect state revenue sharing which is currently under threat due to a series of income tax cuts that have recently passed and are currently proposed. Without revenue sharing, public safety departments would suffer greatly. We must make sure that our towns and cities maintain and increase these funds, regardless of how the Legislature deals with tax policy. Tell us something about your family and friends (favorite things to do with children, friends, etc.) My daughters and I love to fly kites in Himmel Park, go hiking all over Southern Arizona, and enjoy "Freaky Fridays" together with a picnic dinner in front of a DVD movie from Tucson's legendary Cas a Video. And we do love riding Tucson's excellent public transit system SunTran together! What is a favorite vacation spot? The Weekly Spotlight-Representative Steve Farley Contd. 5 March 16, 2007 League of Arizona Cities AND Towns IN THIS ISSUE Fire Service Mandate Passes Out Of House. ................. .......1 Good News On A League Resolution..................... ...........1 Progress On Liquor Bill.... .... .......2 Deadly Weapons Storage......... ....2 Construction Sales Tax Bill Passes Committee......... ........ .....2 Water Service Preemption Passes Committee......... ....... .......2 Title 34 Compromise Passes Senate Government....... ....3 Utility Bill Comes Up Again........ 3 Sign Walkers..........................3 Contractor Verification. . . . . . .. . ... . . .3 Tax Incentives Penalty Bills Passes Easily........... ........3 Amateur Radio Bill Moving.........4 The Weekly Spotlight............. ....4 The League of Arizona Cities & Towns Apposes The Strike Everything Amendment To HB2515 & HB350....... ... .......6 Legislative Bul/etin is published by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns. Forward your comments or suggestions to: League of Arizona Cities & Towns 1820 West Washington Street Phoenix, Arizona 85007 Phone: 602-258-5786 Fax: 602-253-3874 Email: league@azleague.org Internet: www.azleague.org Issue 12 March 23, 2007 FIRE SERVICE MANDATE PASSES OUT OF HOUSE House Bill 2780, the bill that includes a mandate that CItIes provide fire protection services to county islands, passed out of the House twice this week. On Tuesday, the bill passed 38-19-3, enough to pass but without the 40 votes needed to enact the Emergency Clause. However, the House reconsidered the bill the next day where it passed out 55-2-3. Many of those who voted with the cities the first time changed their votes to emphasize a "spirit of bipartisanship," according to statements made during the reconsideration. The bill now goes to the Senate where the League will continue to work with members. However, the League continues to support the language of Senate Bill 1556, which passed the full Senate earlier and does not have any mandate on cities that they provide fire service outside of their boundaries. GOOD NEWS ON A LEAGUE RESOLUTION A House Concurrent Memorial (HCM) is often used to send a message to Congress to act on Arizona's behalf HeM 2002, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), a League resolution, urges Congress to fully fund the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). Representative John Nelson is the sponsor. This program provides for housing, redevelopment, infrastructure and many other projects that improve communities all over the country. Arizona has benefited greatly from the CDBG program. Senator Jack Harper chairs the Senate Government committee and placed HeM 2002 on next Monday's agenda. PROGRESS ON LIQUOR BILL League staff and cities continue to work with the state and the liquor industry to alleviate our concerns on the liquor omnibus bili, House Bill 2391. Last week the bill passed Senate Commerce committee and now awaits action in Rules and then the Senate floor. During a recent meeting with the industry and the Department of Liquor Licenses and Control (DLLC) and representatives from the liquor and hospitality industries, we were heartened to learn that DLLC also has major concerns with the notion that bars and taverns do not have to exercise "reasonable care" when examining patrons' IDs before admitting them into the establishment. This has been a sticking point for us since the bill was drafted. Now that we have the DLLC's support, we expect to have a lot more leverage in crafting language that ensures that bars and taverns take great care to make sure minors do not get served alcohol. DEADL Y WEAPONS STORAGE Senate Bill 1251, which places additional restrictions on how municipalities store weapons in public buildings, was held in the House Judiciary Committee this week and is expected to be heard in that committee next week. The bill further defines the requirements in last year's law by specifying that the storage must be within 200 feet of each building's entrance. For example, a person cannot be sent to the police department to store a weapon but must be able to store it at the building he is entering. Also, the bill places restrictions on the type of storage, specifying that the storage method must be individual lockers that are numbered and keyed. The owner of the weapon must be allowed to keep the key and have immediate access to the weapon for retrieval. The League is concerned with the additional costs associated with the implementation of - 2 - these new requirements just 6 months after last year's requirements were complied with. Law enforcement strongly opposes this bill as a huge public safety concern. Please contact members of the House Judiciary Committee to express your opposition to this bill. CONSTRUCTION SALES TAX BILL PASSES COMMITTEE The House Government Committee passed a strike-everything amendment to Senate Bill 1544 on Wednesday with a 5-2 vote. The amendment mandates that cities and towns charging a higher construction sales tax rate to dedicate that increment amount to new development. The bill also now links the construction sales taxes directly to development fees by requiring it to be used to build only infrastructure included in your infrastructure improvements plan as created in Senate Bill 1423. For those communities that don't charge development fees but do charge a higher construction sales tax, this is a huge problem. Most, if not all, communities with a higher construction sales tax rate already dedicate at least a portion of this local tax to infrastructure costs. This bill, brought forward by the Homebuilders Association of Central Arizona is an attempt by a special interest group to legisl~te that your local tax revenues be spent on their interests. Please contact your Representatives and ask them to oppose this bill on the House floor. WATER SERVICE PREEMPTION PASSES COMMITTEE Senate Bill 1119 exempts Imgation districts from complying with ANY local ordinances that restrict their water use and negatively impacts water conservation efforts. It passed the House March 23, 2007 Water Service Preemption Passes Committee Contd. Water and Agriculture Committee this week with a 7-2 vote, with Rep. Manny Alvarez and Rep. Trish Groe opposing. This bill is now heading for the House floor. Please contact your Representatives and ask them to oppose this bill. TITLE 34 COMPROMISE PASSES SENATE GOVERNMENT House Bill 2065 passed out of the Senate Government Committee on Monday with a 4-0 vote. This bill is the compromise reached between the League, the County Supervisor's Association and the Associated General Contractors (AGe) to study local road maintenance practices and how those projects are bid out. AGC has selected 15 cities to participate and Matt Lore from the League will be contacting those cities to explain further and answer any questions. UTILITY BILL COMES UP AGAIN Senate Bill 1359, municipal utilities; tenant nonpayment, sponsored by Senator Chuck Gray, is back. This bill prohibits a municipality from requiring payment by a property owner of unpaid user fees before providing new service or restoring service to a lessee of that property. The House Government committee decided to hear it next Tuesday on "reconsideration," where a prevailing vote on the committee can bring back a failed bill. We are looking to either amend or otherwise derail this bill, as it is once again the state telling a city or town how to manage local issues. - 3 - SIGN-WALKERS House Bill 2369, temporary signage, continues to make its way through the process. On Monday, March 19th the Senate Government committee voted 4-0, with three members absent, to pass it. Its next stop is the Rules Committee before going to the caucuses and then the floor. We still need to make efforts to stop this bill, as it totally voids local ordinances in the area of temporary signage and tells us what kinds of flora to plant. Simply stated, this bill is ridiculous. CONTRACTOR VERIFICATION Senate Bill 1483, the contractor verification bill that we told you about in the last issue' of the Bulletin, will not be heard in House Government next week and is most likely done for this session. The bill was problematic for us because it may have shifted liability onto the cities for verifying whether contractors were registered with the Registrar of Contractors. TAX INCENTIVES PENAL TY BILLS ADVANCE EASIL Y Two bills that will have a strong deterrent effect on cities' ability to offer sales tax incentives to retailers easily passed out of their respective committees Wednesday. House Bill 2515 and Senate Bill 1350, which are identical Tax Incentives Penalty Bills, penalize a city or town within 25 miles of the Greater Phoenix area for providing a tax incentive to attract retail businesses. The penalty is equal to the amount of the incentive realized by the taxpayer and comes out of that city's state shared sales tax revenues over a 5-year period. March 23, 2007 Tax Incentives Penalty Bills Advance Easily Contd. The League opposes taking away this good economic development tool for cIties, particularly our fast-growing cities. A copy of our fact sheet on this topic is at the end of this Bulletin. Please let the legislative members from your district know that you oppose the bills. AMATEUR RADIO BILL MOVING The Hon. Dan Brown, Mayor of Page, Arizona, continues to push a bill that is both personally and professionally important to him. House Bill 2595 requires cities, counties and home owners' associations to accommodate "reasonable heights and dimensions" of amateur radio station emergency service communications antennae. Mayor Brown sees the amateur radio operators as an important public safety component, particularly during emergencies. During committee testimony earlier this year, Mayor Brown stressed the role of the amateur radio operators during the Rodeo-Chedeski fire as the only operating communication service available at the time. Quite simply, he said, the amateur radio operators saved lives and assisted public safety personnel during a time of crisis. The bill passed out of the House by a vote of 56- 2-2. It is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Government committee on Monday, March 26th at 1 :30 p.m. The Weeklv SvotliJ!ht - Senator Jav Tibshraenv For many of you, Senator Jay Tibshraeny, District 21, needs little introduction. A native of Chandler and an Arizona State University - 4- graduate, Senator Tibshraeny has had a long and distinguished career in local and state government.The youngest person to be elected mayor in Chandler, Senator Tibshraeny served on numerous municipal, county and state boards and councils, including The League's Executive Committee. He has been a state senator since 2003. He and his wife Karen have a daughter, Lauren. How do you see local government impacting people's lives? At the state level, my fellow legislators and I deal with people's most immediate needs that impact almost every aspect of their lives. Whether it is the highways on which they drive, the taxes they payor the safety and education of their children, the state Legislature is involved. When I was Mayor of Chandler, I was very close to my constituents, interacting daily with citizens on issues affecting their lives. We rely on local government to help improve the quality of our lives, ensure our safety with police and fire services, provide parks and recreational activities for our families and so much more. Local government will always be the level of government that is closest to our citizens. What is one issue you see as particularly important to local government this session? Unfortunately, we are hearing more and more tragic endings to Amber Alert cases and I am proud to be sponsoring a bill the League of Arizona Cities and Towns and the City of Mesa brought to me to help keep our children safe from sexual predators. Senate Bill 1555 prohibits Level 3 sex offenders who have committed crimes against children from living within 700 feet of a school or daycare center. This bill has passed the Senate and is now being heard in the House. As of 2004, 13 states have enacted some form of residency restrictions applicable to sex offenders. I hope Arizona can be next. Tell us something about your family and friends (favorite things to do with children, friends, etc.) March 23,2007 The Weekly Spotli2ht - Senator Jav Tibshraenv Contd My daughter Lauren plays volleyball at Chandler High School as well as club ball. It is a joy to watch her play. What is afavorite vacation spot? One of my favorite vacation spots is San Diego. My family vacations there each summer and I really look forward to this time away with them. What is afavorite hobby? Some favorite hobbies of mine are Joggmg, gardening and watching sports. Thanks for your time. Thank you. League of Arizona .~ CitiesANDTowns The Lea2:ue of Arizona Cities and Towns Opposes the Strike Evervthin2: Amendment to HB2515 & SB1350 Background The strike-everything amendment penalizes a city or town within 25 miles of the Greater Phoenix area for providing a tax incentive to attract retail businesses. The penalty is equal to the amount of the incentive realized by the taxpayer and comes out of that city's state shared sales tax revenues over a 5-year period. Tax incentives excluded from the provisions are: . City services or benefits generally afforded to all new business in the municipality. . Incentives afforded to all retail business in the municipality. . Tax incentives to businesses in redevelopment areas. . Incentives for off-site public infrastructure furnished and owned by the municipality (sewer, water, roads, etc.). . Incentives to preserve historical buildings or other structures. . Incentives for clean up of brown field sites. Key Points 1. Arizona's economic vitality is not happening by accident; it is because of the concentrated efforts of the sate and local governments. There is no guarantee that businesses and jobs will locate in Arizona. 2. The amendment diminishes Arizona's business-friendly reputation and removes a key tool for Arizona's cities and towns to compete regionally, nationally and internationally. 3. Cities must use good financial judgment before going forward with an incentive program. Under current law, an independent, third party verifies that the projected revenue will be greater than the investment, which benefits the state as well as the city. Why would the state turn away a solid revenue source. 4. Under current law, cities must also demonstrate that retailers would not locate without the incentives before the program can go forward. 5. Small, fast-growing municipalities within the covered area will not be able to compete to bring key retail anchors to their cities. Retailers that have a wide radius for customers will locate in California, Nevada or New Mexico. 6. Retail incentive programs generate revenue on-site. Those sites usually generate nothing or very little before the retailer moves in. 7. Incentives also work to locate retailers in high-density areas, which better serves the residents. 6 March 23,2007