Accomplishments

Platinum Triangle

Local governments’ standard operating procedure for urban revitalization is to use eminent domain to seize private property and transfer it to another private owner for the sole “public purpose” of hopefully achieving greater economic activity – usually accompanied by a healthy dose of taxpayer subsidies.

Since Mayor Curt Pringle’s election in 2002, Anaheim has charted a new course guided by faith in the free market. One result is the Platinum Triangle – a vibrant downtown of up to 9,500 residential units, 5 million square feet of office space and over 2 million square feet of commercial uses. New Anaheim residents will soon move into the Stadium Lofts, and the long-discussed A-Town is now sprouting 2681 units and 14 residential towers of more than 20 stories. Six other high density residential projects have been approved, and new restaurants are coming while Anaheim landmarks like The Catch, The White House, and Mr. Stox are looking to locate in the Platinum Triangle.

Thanks to the vision and leadership of Mayor Pringle and the Anaheim City Council, this has accomplished rapidly and without a single use of eminent domain or redevelopment subsidies.

Mayor Pringle adopted a freedom-friendly approach by creating an overlay zone allowing property owners to pursue virtually any land use they wanted. This vastly expanded menu of development choices triggered billions in private investment and is transforming a collection of warehouses and industrial properties into millions of square feet of new retail, entertainment, restaurant and office space.

Home Improvement Holiday

When government gets out of the way, free markets and free citizens can accomplish a lot in just a little time.

The Anaheim Home Improvement Holiday is a case in point. Between March 1 and May 31, 2004, permit fees were waived and Anaheim residents responded by making $28.3 million in improvements to their homes –  a spectacular return on a civic investment of $772,240 in waived permit fees.

3,562 residential building permits were issued during the three-month holiday, with a construction valuation of nearly $15 million.

Business Tax Holiday

In 2005, Mayor Pringle led the Anaheim City Council in establishing a Business Tax Holiday. All business taxes were waived for new businesses started during that three-month holiday. At the same time, business taxes were cut across the board for most Anaheim businesses – while small, home-based and start-up businesses were exempted from city business taxes at all. Businesses that had been operating without a license had penalties waived if they came forward and applied for a license during the three-month holiday.

The results were impressive. During the Business Tax Holiday, more than 2,000 new businesses formed -- an increase of more than 33% over the prior year – and 550 companies take advantage of tax amnesty.

When government steps aside and fosters an environment in which entrepreneurs can succeed, they will take that opportunity and run with it.

WiFi

Mayor Pringle’s leadership resulted in an agreement under which Earthlink will build a wireless internet network covering all 50-square miles of Anaheim – turning our city into a giant hotspot by the end of 2006 in which anyone can have wireless hi-speed internet access for a modest fee. In keep with the spirit of freedom-friendly governance, Anaheim’s city-wide WiFi will be a free market enterprise – not a government service funded by taxpayers – and other internet service providers can still provide competitive WiFi services in Anaheim.

A city-wide WiFi network also enhances Anaheim’s allure as a business and tourism destination, and helps keep Anaheim competitive in this hi-tech economy.