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ER No. 2019-85/DBA No. 2020-01/SPR No. 2020-01/SPR No. 2020-02/DDA <br />October 20, 2020 <br />Page 4 <br />the execution of the second ENA, the developer has been working on his entitlements for the <br />project. <br />At the September 28, 2020 Planning Commission public hearing, by a vote of 6-0-1 (Phan <br />abstained), the Commission approved Variance No. 2020-05 to utilize the Santa Ana Municipal <br />Code (SAMC) Section 41-1344 standards for hotel off-street parking and to allow deviations from the <br />off-street parking access requirement and Tentative Parcel Map. No. 2020-02 to create two <br />development sites and establish airspace to allow for separate interest and ownership of public <br />parking spaces and to provide vehicular and pedestrian access to a private street through a public <br />access easement and the associated addendum to the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the <br />project. In addition, the Planning Commission recommended City Council approval of the <br />addendum, DBA, and SPR applications (Exhibit 4). <br />Economic Development Summary and Subsidy Report <br />Kosmont Companies, a land economics consulting firm, was retained to provide a financial <br />feasibility analysis of the Caribou proposal. In their analysis, Kosmont has validated that the <br />proposed project, which requires the demolition of the current parking structure, replacement of <br />public parking spaces, and the reconnection of Sycamore Street, has a significant financial gap <br />and a subsidy is warranted. <br />The proposed deal structure would minimize the financial gap as follows: The City would segregate <br />typical costs to develop a site such as demolition of the existing parking structure and preparation <br />for development, as well as public improvements such as replacement public parking and a <br />reconnection of a public street (Sycamore Street) as the City's responsibilities. <br />The costs for the City's responsibilities are estimated by the developer at $13 million. The City cost <br />will be based on the actual cost of the public improvements with a maximum cap of $13 million. <br />The City would finance the capital costs through public financing at a later date. The developer will <br />pay the debt service through an Operating Agreement whereby the developer will operate the <br />public parking and pay all costs associated, with no financial risk to the City. <br />The subsidy amount ($13 million) is within the feasibility gap as estimated by Kosmont. The hotel <br />is the biggest economic risk, especially during the recent pandemic. However, the possibility of <br />future conversion to residential if the hotel is not economically viable in the first 5 years provides <br />an economic alternative that helps to mitigate the risk. <br />As part of the approval process and in accordance with Government Code Sections 52201 and <br />53083, a project summary and economic development subsidy report (Exhibit 5) must be <br />completed and submitted detailing the project, the structure of the public subsidy, projected tax <br />benefits, and estimated number of jobs that would be created by the subsidy. This report shall be <br />available to the public and posted on the City's website until the end date of the economic <br />development subsidy. This analysis does not take into consideration the value of the public benefit <br />of 19 affordable housing units for very low-income families that will be developed on -site by the <br />developer at no cost to the City. <br />75A-4 <br />