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Council hears warehouse tax proposal that could raise up to $10M; ordinance fails for lack of a second
Summary
Staff presented an ordinance to submit a warehouse/industrial business-license tax to the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot, estimating about 16 million square feet of industrial area and up to $10 million annually. Council waived reading but a motion to adopt the ordinance immediately failed for lack of a second and related resolutions also failed to advance.
Special counsel Jessica Santiago presented the proposed ordinance and election package to place a general business-license tax on specified industrial uses before voters in November. "Staff estimates with the 16,000,000 square footage ... this measure could bring upwards of $10,000,000 to the city," Santiago said, explaining the proposed voter-authorized maximum of up to $1 per square foot, automatic CPI adjustment (capped at 2%), and a staff-drafted exemption for e-commerce facilities.
Councilmembers questioned potential effects on business retention, whether area firms had been consulted, and the lack of a sunset clause. A representative letter from ProLogistix, read into the record, urged the council not to advance the measure in its current form because a square-footage tax may not correlate to truck activity and could single out industrial businesses. The council voted to waive reading of the ordinance but a later motion to adopt the ordinance with immediate effect failed for lack of a second; council also did not advance the related resolutions, effectively stalling the measure at this meeting.
