Clifton Park studies development effects
Written on February 4, 2010 by admin
CLIFTON PARK — The Clifton Park Industrial Development Agency is undertaking a $35,000 study to determine how it can best take advantage of development in the town — and how it might ease the tax burden on residents.
The “fiscal and tax base analysis” is being done by Camoin Associates Inc., an economic development consulting firm in Malta.
The town itself won’t be paying for the study. Rather, it is being paid for through the new Clifton Park IDA Economic Development Fund. The IDA, which earns fees from the development projects it puts together, created the fund with $350,000 from its own general fund.
On Monday, the town board voiced its support for the study, which is expected to take about four months to complete.
The study will review zoning and land-use requirements, tax revenues and the overall fiscal health of the town. It will also look at how the town balances commercial and industrial development with residential, retail and recreational areas.
Town Supervisor Phil Barrett said the town has already done studies that look at open space, environmental and long-range planning for the town, but a tax study will help provide an even more detailed picture of what the future could hold, especially with GlobalFoundries Inc. building a $4.2 billion computer chip factory to the north in Malta.
“Certainly, with GlobalFoundries up the street, it certainly is good to be proactive to make sure we’re on the same page,” Barrett said. “You have to be careful moving forward. It will open up new opportunities for different types of businesses that we don’t have here in the town currently. So you have to be prepared for that.”
Various towns in Saratoga County have commissioned planning studies to prepare for what the GlobalFoundries project might bring. The factory, known as Fab 8, could produce thousands of new “spin-off” jobs from suppliers and service companies that want to set up shop nearby. The county is also working on a needs analysis for each town in the county in conjunction with the Saratoga Economic Development Corp. in Saratoga Springs.
The IDA’s economic development fund, which is being administered by SEDC, will also provide loans and grants of up to $50,000 to small businesses in the town or those that locate there and create 25 or more jobs.
Both SEDC and the Clifton Park IDA made appointments to a committee that will oversee the new fund. Its chairman is Jim Angus, a vice president at SEDC.
Angus said Tuesday that the study will look at the fiscal impact of land use in the town, especially the tax implications.
“It gives them one more tool,” he said.
Larry Rulison can be reached at 454-5504 or by e-mail at lrulison@timesunion.com.
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