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City Council Study Session 1l~Ionday, .August 20, 2007 Page 24 ® iscussi®n - iscuss ay ent in Dieu ®f axes fr® l~®rt west- ern ®ilege Councilmember Ihlan presented her research and a request for discus- sion on a Payment in Lieu of Tax (PILOT) program, specifically re- lated to the proposed expansion of Northwestern College. Council- member Ihlan provided an analysis done for the City of Springfield, MA; and City Attorney Anderson provided actual agreements re- ceived earlier that afternoon from the City of Woodbury, and the City of Falcon Heights. Councilmember Ihlan opined that this was a good opportunity to ne- gotiate with Northwestern College for additional infrastructure costs and other impacts of their proposed expansion, prior to Planned Unit Development Amendment (PUD) and Master Plan approval. Coun- cilmember Ihlan referenced recent comnnents by Randy Neprash, and tax exempt properties purchasing non-exempt properties within a community, and the impacts to the City's tax base and other taxpay- ers. Councilmember Ihlan also referenced communication from the City Attorney related to options for negotiating PILOT issues; and opined that the City had rationale and a legitimate basis to attempt ne- gotiations at this time, and suggesting holding off on making a deci- sion on the Northwestern College PUD until staff had time to negoti- ate with the applicant. Councilmember Pust recognized the instructive information provided in the City Attorney opinion references; however, expressed concern that the City Council had not had a for broad-based use of a PILOT program, and whether it would include all non-profits and faith com- munities, and what type of expansion or land use issue, in the context of a PUD, would activate a PILOT or exempt them from considera- tion. City Attorney Anderson suggested that the City Council have a policy discussion; opining that his legal opinion hopefully provided negotia- tion points to consider in land use approvals; however, cautioned that he had not completed sufficient research and analysis to determine use of PILOT's in other contexts, and equal protection arguments, case law, and implications.