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JDEDZ PROJECT REVIEW SEPTEMBER 2017 III: OTHER PROJECT FINANCING In addition to the Sales Tax Sharing Agreement analyzed above, the JDEDZ relies on additional funding sources. Two of those are noteworthy here as they impact the availability of capital improvement funds for transportation projects elsewhere in the city, the Traffic Impact Fee. Since 1998, the City of Pleasanton has maintained a TIF fund for transportation needs throughout the city. The guiding document for the program was updated in 2010. The proposed funding for the Costco component of the JDEDZ calls on TIF for two distinct pools of money: 1. $6.4 million from existing TIF funds for Stoneridge Drive and 1-680 onramp improvements 2. $3.7 million from Costco's project-specific TIF payment We will briefly discuss each of these sources separately. Stoneridge Drive and 1-680 Onramp Improvements: $6.4 million The primary access point to the Costco will be on Johnson Drive north from Stoneridge Drive. The project calls for an expansion of a curved portion of Johnson Drive to seven lanes to accommodate customers and suppliers to the Costco site. The alternative for Costco access is a much longer stretch of Johnson Drive to the north and east, using Owens Drive and Clorox Way to access Hopyard Road, a major thoroughfare. To facilitate anticipated Costco traffic from the south, the project calls for widening Stoneridge to feed both the new Johnson Drive lanes and a new second onramp lane to northbound 1-680. The city proposes to fund this improvement (both the Stoneridge widening and the second onramp lane it will feed) using existing TIF funds, generated by other developments through the years. However, the appropriateness of this allocation of TIF money is problematic. First, the current Traffic Impact Fee and Nexus Report (2010, TJKM Transportation Consultants), does not appear to include the Stoneridge onramp in the TIF spending plan. It includes a widening of Stoneridge over 1-680 (estimated at $4.65 million in 2010) and a modest reworking of the Stoneridge-Johnson intersection ($0.4 million). Interestingly, the 1998 iteration of the TIF "Development Fee Project List" did include an estimated $8 million expenditure for 1-680 onramps from Stoneridge, but this line item was apparently discarded in the 2010 update. Second, the current Capital Improvement Program for the city (2017/18—2020/21) does include a $6.4 million item specifically for the JDEDZ described as "Stoneridge Drive and 1-680 Northbound Widening." That project is included in a list and discussion of"City Council CIP Priority Projects." The text there is clear in stating that, "in the event the JDEDZ is not approved the reserve would return to fund balance to be reprogrammed for other General Plan eligible projects." In other words, should the Costco and JDEDZ not go forward, there would be no need for the onramp expansion through at least FY 2020/21. Civic Economics is in no position to opine on the legality of this proposed expenditure and recommends that interested citizens review the matter with local counsel. However, legality aside, this $6.4 million would be made available for other needed transportation projects Civic Economics 11