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Commission debates whether $30,000 assurance is adequate; agrees to $60,000 for this relocation
Summary
Commissioners debated a long-standing $30,000 financial assurance used for relocations and agreed to set $60,000 for the 406 West Smuggler approval, splitting release half at placement on foundation and half at project completion; commissioners suggested a future work session to consider percentage-based bonds.
Commissioners questioned whether the long-standing $30,000 financial assurance remains adequate given modern construction costs and the potential for costly relocation work. The Chair proposed increasing the assurance to $60,000 for this project with half releasable upon placement of the building on its new foundation and the balance at project completion: "My suggestion would be that it doubles with the ability to release 0.5 of it once the structure is placed on the new foundation and then the remaining at the end of the project," the Chair said.
Commissioners discussed alternatives including bonds keyed to a percentage of project cost, and asked staff to consult finance for guidance; several commissioners supported setting a higher figure for this project as precedent and proposed a future work session to study a percentage-based or square-footage-based approach to financial assurance. The commission directed staff to bring data from past project budgets to help define appropriate bonding metrics for future cases.
