Plans moved forward this week for the potential move of Bay Photo’s operations from two locations in Santa Cruz to the former home of Seagate in Scotts Valley, after two financial speed bumps were resolved at the state and local levels.
“I’m pretty enthusiastic about supporting this,” City Councilman Randy Johnson said last week. “We don’t want to see (buildings) go dark.”
On Tuesday afternoon in Sacramento, the board of the state-run California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank voted unanimously to approve the sale of almost $8.8 million in low-interest, tax-exempt industrial development revenue bonds to Bay Photo, a Santa Cruz-based professional photo printing and photo finishing company.
That will help the company with the estimated $10.7 million cost of buying and fixing up the 17 acres of property on Disc Drive.
The company, which has reported consistent growth over the past decade, is in escrow for the Seagate site after it outgrew its space in Santa Cruz.
“In order to compete, we need bigger facilities,” said Bay Photo President Larry Abitbol at the July 20 meeting of the Scotts Valley City Council.
If Bay Photo closes escrow, the company would take to Scotts Valley about 200 employees, along with its high-end photo and art imaging business.
The influx of working professionals would be a shot in the arm for local businesses, said Scotts Valley City Manager Steve Ando, particularly for gas stations and eateries
“That’s really good for the city,” Ando said. “Plus, we’ll get some sales tax revenue.”
Part of Bay Photo’s proposal is to add about 9,000 square feet of storage, warehouse and shipping space to connect the buildings at 910 and 920 Disc Drive.
Ordinarily, according to the Scotts Valley Municipal Code, connecting two buildings in that way would entail the payment of several thousand dollars in impact fees, which cover the city’s costs for community facilities, law enforcement, streets, storm drains, sewage and administration.
At the City Council’s meeting last week, the body voted unanimously to waive about $116,000 in impact fees and to spread out payments over three years for the estimated $36,000 in building fees.
“If it helps (Bay Photo) to make the move here, I don’t see any problems on the city’s side,” Ando said.
At the meeting, Johnson, the councilman, attributed the decision to waive the impact fees to the council’s recognition of the difficulties of leading a growing company.
“We’re trying to put ourselves in their shoes and lessen the blow of the cost of doing business,” Johnson said. “Both sides are looking for ways to help.”
Mayor Dene Bustichi agreed.
“Charging fees because you can is not something a government should do,” Bustichi said.
Councilman Jim Reed pointed to possible job creation as a major reason the council waived the fees.
“The great thing about this is that it brings more jobs,” Reed said.
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