Remove ImagesDowntown Restaurant Gets Special Perks
November 29, 2012
Business owners in downtown Greensboro who want free parking should call the city and request it, according to Greensboro City Councilmember Trudy Wade.
The Greensboro City Council at its Tuesday, Nov. 20 meeting in the council chambers at city hall approved an encroachment agreement granting use of 1,440 square feet of right-of-way free of charge to Dos Papayas Cantina Mexican restaurant for 15 employee parking spaces. The restaurant is part of a revitalization effort by Momentum Development Partners, Greensboro Parking Group LLC and the city.
"If this passes tonight and we give away parking to a particular business downtown, which government has picked, I would encourage everyone downtown that's paying rent on spaces to contact the city and see if they can get shown the same type of leniency and given free parking for downtown," Wade said.
The council loaned $200,000 to Greensboro Parking Group in February for the development of a pay parking lot to be used by patrons of the restaurant and other downtown visitors. The stated intention of that resolution was "for the benefit of low and moderate income persons in the Central Business District." The parking and restaurant are supposed to increase commerce in the area and provide employment opportunities.
Councilmember Marikay Abuzuaiter, who had the item pulled from the consent agenda at a previous meeting, asked if the property had been appraised.
Engineering and Inspections Director Butch Simmons responded that because the property was not being sold, it had not been appraised. The city still owns the right-of-way and retains the right to take it back.
Abuzuaiter said that if the restaurant was going to receive money from the pay parking lot, which the city lent them money to build, they certainly should be able to pay for the additional spaces.
Wade also objected to giving the right-of-way away. She said, "I think I remember other groups, other businesses wanting parking downtown and we've either leased or sold them the property, and so now we're picking one company out and saying you don't have to do what everybody else does; we're just going to give you the property."
Greensboro City Manager Denise Turner Roth said that the interest was in giving incentives to the company that owns the restaurant.
Wade said, "Again, government picking the winners and losers in the downtown area, it's wrong, it's unfair, it's picking one business over another and I don't see how we can give them property that taxpayers paid for."
Nick Piornack of Momentum Development Partners said he had not asked for the right-of-way, but that the idea was presented by city staff as a way to make use of the land and allow the restaurant to provide better employee parking.
He said that without the extra space from the right-of-way his employees would have had to make a three-point turn to get out of the lot, which he said he was fine with him too.
Wade said the land obviously wasn't worthless, since it was worth something to the restaurant, and questioned how city staff can determine land to be worthless when it gives a company an advantage over other businesses.
Mayor Robbie Perkins said he felt the staff had come up with a win-win solution and that if it weren't for the millions of dollars invested in the area by the developer, the parking lot would just be growing weeds and the right-of-way would still have no use.
Abuzuaiter expressed concern that giving away the property would set a precedent of the city giving away land, and that other companies would expect the same deal.
Councilmember Zack Matheny said the restaurant owners would invest in and improve the land, and that if the restaurant were to go under the land would be in a better place as a result. "All in all, the city will benefit by having them improve that 1,400 square feet," he said.
The motion to let the restaurant use the right-of-way passed 7 to 2. Mayor Perkins and Councilmembers Dianne Bellamy-Small, Nancy Hoffmann, Jim Kee, Yvonne Johnson, Nancy Vaughan and Matheny voted in favor of giving away the right-of-way. Councilmembers Abuzuaiter and Wade voted against it.
The council also voted unanimously to stop assessing property owners for curb and gutter improvements. Instead, the cost will now be factored into the overall cost of projects and absorbed by the city.
There are currently eight curb and gutter projects affected by this resolution and $1.7 million in assessment fees that will not be charged to property owners.
During speakers from the floor, Mark Walker – one of the more right-leaning applicants for the council seat Wade will be vacating to serve as a North Carolina state Senator – announced he was withdrawing his name from consideration.
"I do plan to run one day, probably sooner rather than later. But from a credibility standpoint it's more important for me to earn this position as opposed to the process that's at hand," Walker said.
The process at hand involves the current council appointing someone to serve out the remainder of Wade's term representing District 5 on the council.
Walker then took the opportunity to comment on the direction of Greensboro politics by describing a trip he had taken to Cleveland to help revitalize a school.
"For me to draw a comparison between Greensboro and Cleveland would be unfair and would be a gross exaggeration on my part. However, the Clevelands and Detroits should be an example of what is created when there is habitual spending with reckless abandon," he said.
When later asked if there was anyone in the current list of applicants he endorsed, he said that he supported Tony Wilkins. "He is a strong fiscal conservative," Walker said, adding that they did disagree on some social issues.
Walker said he would not run against Wilkins if he is appointed to Wade's seat. Instead he would look to other offices like county commissioner in the near future.