TIDDFACTS

Albuquerque Journal

Saturday, January 03, 2009

SunCal Will Deliver on TIDD Promises

Vanessa Alarid

Government relations manager, SunCal New Mexico

Our mission in acquiring the 55,000-acre Westland property is to bring high-quality, job-creating, mixed-use community development to the state and to West Side Albuquerque and to protect existing environmental, cultural and economic interests while expanding opportunities for open space, housing for everyone and enhanced local and state tax revenue.

Opponents have seized on our efforts to gain approval for top-quality, master-planned infrastructure - financed through a Tax Increment Development District, or TIDD - that will enable us to deliver on our mission, as if we could succeed without it.

But true advocates of sustainable, master-planned infrastructure that supports a high quality of life and sufficient outdoor and recreation opportunities know that short-term, stopgap infrastructure does not work well.

The piecemeal approach is bad for communities that must endure constant construction and traffic jams. And it's bad for taxpayers who continue to pay for poor services and substandard infrastructure.

For examples of piecemeal growth that end up creating traffic, flood control and other costly problems, we don't have to look far. Many places have grown rapidly without the benefit of smart, long-term master planning. The results have been shortages of critical infrastructure, roads and water works that were not 'right sized' the first time, needlessly long commuting times and orange barrel nightmares year in and year out. The ongoing need for road repairs and drainage fixes places a great strain on everyone's limited resources, especially in tough economic times.

What we offer and ask:

• With TIDD financing, we will be held accountable for much smarter growth that enables people to live near where they work and benefit from well thought out open space and family recreation facilities.
• We will be accountable for thousands of new jobs that would not otherwise come to New Mexico.
• We will be held accountable for roads and water lines that last, and which will be installed in the right order, as well as for flood prevention and open space preservation.
• We will be accountable for growing the tax base, not shrinking it, by bringing in the types of enterprises that contribute more in revenue than they draw in resources.
• Lastly, we will be held accountable to taxpayers who will not ever have to let one red cent retire the TIDD bonds if we don't deliver on our promises of jobs and increased revenues. That's right, unless we deliver on what we promise, we and our financial partners will bear the entire burden for having given the West Side proper infrastructure, up front.

With the nation as a whole facing massive job layoffs and declining revenues, we offer a way to help keep New Mexico from getting pulled down, too.

All we ask in return is that when our community and state do prosper because of our investment, a manageable percentage of the increase be allocated to retiring the TIDD debt.

It's a grand bargain, with no risk to the community. If the infusion of capital we have already brought to New Mexico isn't evidence that we are serious, what is?

I'm just one of many who has had to leave New Mexico in the past to jump-start a career. I'm fortunate to be back with my family.

Many of us, however, would like to see New Mexico progress to the point where our children can succeed right here, without ever having to leave the state to realize their dreams and fulfill their futures.

We would also like to see the kind of growth that protects our resources and environment while respecting the rich cultural history of New Mexico.

The TIDD support we seek is mainly for industrial buildings and infrastructure so we can meet demands of potential employers interested in relocating here. This is, after all, exactly what the state's TIDD statute is meant to promote - good, clean jobs in a way that also protects and enhances our tax base.

With major employers cutting back or shutting down, now is exactly the time to bolster our local economy with the type of investment that TIDD-enabled infrastructure will attract.

This development proposal also represents just six percent of the property. The results from this first phase will be our chance to demonstrate to the community and its leaders that we can do what we say based on strict accountability and successful results. We are rooted in this community, and I hope my own daughter can benefit from this more progressive method of master planning and right-sizing infrastructure for the clean, quality growth our children will need and deserve.