An ordinance requiring that planned superstores complete an economic impact analysis before seeking approval for their projects, giving community members and elected officials more control over these development projects.

This ordinance encourages the government to procure goods through local businesses with price preferences. Small businesses (those with 35 or fewer employees) receive a 5% price preference in the awarding of city contracts. For services provided through a request-for-proposal process, local small businesses receive a 10% point advantage. Local businesses of all sizes also receive a 2.5% preference, but the city defines a 'local' business as any business with a location in Santa Clara County.

This report discusses the concept, features, and implementation of municipal-level community benefits agreements (CBAs) in California. This report notes that these agreements enhance trust and cooperation between employees, businesses, communities, and governments by contractually binding them to one another following CBA negotiations. Notably, where large scale development projects are bound to a community through a CBA, this report finds that the economic growth and development is more wide spread across the community where developers and communities have a CBA in place than in cases where developers are not bound to the community through some contract. This report finds that CBAs both open lines of communication between community groups and developers and foster greater coordination between communities and developers by establishing goals of development.

This ordinance: requires, for participating developments, a minimum of 15% of the dwelling units within the participating residential development to be affordable to households with an income not to exceed 80% of the Area Median Income and that participating residential developments including or consisting of apartments provide affordable housing units as rental units in the same proportion that the apartments comprise a portion of the total residential development; provides density bonuses, including a 20% unit increase, and zoning ordinance dimensional adjustments; requires the appropriate agency to annually publish a pricing schedule of sale and rental prices for affordable dwelling units; establishes limitations governing the resale of affordable dwelling units created under this bill; and requires affordable dwelling units to be dispersed among the market rate dwelling units throughout the development.

This local law adopts the energy conservation construction code of New York state; allows compliance to be determined through the use of computer software developed by the United States Department of Energy; exempts certain low energy buildings from the building thermal envelope provisions; permits the commissioner to find that an energy efficiency programs exceeds the energy efficiency required by this code; allows a building upon approval in writing the the commissioner to be considered in compliance with this code; requires certain building and construction inspections; and requires the submission of an evaluation report by the manufacturer or approved agency on each prefabricated construction assembly, indicating the complete details of the mechanical system.

This ordinance mandates certain percentage of set-asides for affordable units for each covered development type, requires that affordable units be located within the development subject to this ordinance; and offers density bonuses for developments that meet certain percentages of affordable units.

This ordinance enacts a temporary moratorium on big box store applications and hearings to allow time for residents and town officials to consider the impacts of large-scale retail and amends the town zoning law accordingly.

An ordinance requiring that no single retail store (including, but not limited to, a retail establishment use as defined in Bennington's Land Use and Development Regulations) whether located in a single building, combination of buildings, single tenant space and/or combination of tenant spaces shall exceed 50,000 (fifty thousand) gross square feet of floor area in the aggregate, except that in the Planned Commercial District the limit shall be 75,000 gross square feet in the aggregate.

An ordinance which requires that proposed retail developments under 75,000 square feet, but larger than 15,000 square feet, undergo a community impact review and obtain a conditional use permit. The cost of all independent studies and investigations required to complete the review are to be paid by the developer.

An ordinance requiring new retail stores over 16,000 square feet to obtain a special permit, with approval hinging on whether they add to a balanced and diverse mix of downtown businesses. Specifically, a new store must demonstrate that it 1) adds a desired type of business, 2) contributes to an appropriate balance of local or non-local businesses, and 3)contributes to an 'appropriate balance of small, medium and large-sized businesses. In addition to enhancing the overall diversity of the downtown business district, the new store must be a 'good neighbor' and contribute to community life by becoming a member of a business or neighborhood organization, hiring local residents whenever possible, and participating in festivals and other events.