Disney/Pixar Fence: A Source of Civic Pride
OpinionThe City of Emeryville has redesigned its website! And for the new and improved look, City Hall decided to highlight the things it's most proud of. Front and center on the new site is a photograph of the half mile long Disney/Pixar fence right across from City Hall. That's the fence that sternly reminds everyone that Disney/Pixar isn't interested in Emeryville and keep the hell out...the fence that runs the entire perimeter of the corporate campus, six blocks by two, along Park Boulevard from Hollis all the way up to San Pablo, right through the heart of Emeryville.
We don't need two point perspective in Emeryville; to illustrate it, just make a vanishing point and two lines emanating from it in the form of an inverted V, signifying the edges of the sidewalk...and a fence along the side of it.
Evidently, City Hall thinks getting the Disney/Pixar fence was a big score for Emeryville. A real coup d'etat in the realm of city planning for our town. If they weren't proud of the fence, why else would they showcase it as the premier photograph in the new official website representing our town?
The fence cordons off the super block that the City made when they gave Disney/Pixar Watts and Emery Streets to the corporate giant as a gift to help them consolidate their campus. It's the same fence that blocked the Spur Alley bike path from its planned connection to City Hall.
To those who might not feel that the Disney/Pixar fence is civic pride in steel and thorns, realize, this City is looking out for you in more than just the erection of a fence, the multi billion dollar Disney/Pixar also contributes taxes to our city: $8000 per year.
Other cities may have super blocks, but Emeryville has super duper blocks! If you're headed north or south, you have to walk an extra mile to get around Disney/Pixar. You'll have a long walk but not to worry, we've got an eight foot steel fence running the entire length, proving to everyone how much clout Emeryville has; a physical manifestation showing everyone just what our values are.
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| Vanishing Point: Civic Pride in Thorns and Steel We've got super duper blocks and a half mile long fence in the heart of Emeryville! |
Don't they pay TAX? Your cited $8,000 seems impossible to believe.
ReplyDeletePlease check again.
No, they don't pay taxes in Emeryville. After citizens started complaining about the business tax cap and Pixar's refusal to pay taxes to Emeryville, Disney started to claim their taxable revenue was all to be attributed to their Burbank headquarters. The $8000 is paid on incidentals.
DeleteThere's no way to check this info since they keep the info private and the City is not required to release it. The only reason we know about the $8000 is Council member Kurt Brinkman spilled the beans in a Tattler interview a couple of years ago. Read the story in the link to see details.
This is Apples v Oranges. Sales Tax v PROPERTY TAX ! Property Tax is a Public Record.
ReplyDeleteThe $8000 I refer to isn't in the form of property tax or sales tax from Disney/Pixar, it's the amount they paid for their Emeryville business tax.
DeleteProperty tax is something that any property owner has to pay no matter what. At almost 10% of Emeryville's land mass, the Disney/Pixar site represents a huge source of potential revenue for this city. Unfortunately, they've decided to weasel out of paying what they owe and we're left with an amount so low that it's in effect an Emeryville taxpayer subsidy to that corporation. Imagine how much money that property could generate if there was a business there that paid it's taxes. Imagine how nice it would be if we didn't have to pick up the tab for Disney/Pixar.
DeleteDisney provides Emeryville with plenty of free publicity. Check out their website http://www.pixar.com/about which states clearly:
ReplyDeletePixar Animation Studios
Located in Emeryville, California, Pixar Animation Studios has created acclaimed animated feature and short films for over 25 years. Pixar is also home to the RenderMan line of software products.
This one mention on the Pixar website is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to Emeryville!
"Hundreds of thousands of dollars"? Why stop there? Why not make it millions of dollars? If your going to make stuff up out of whole cloth, why not be bold?
DeleteSo you've calculated the value we get from Disney being here vastly offsets the value that the land would net us with a company that actually paid its taxes. What tortured logic pray tell, have you used to make that calculation? Then show us how in the future we should apply the logic to calculate what other businesses should pay or not pay. After all, we need to have an equitable and fair levy of taxes. So how is this going to all come together?
Unless your comment is meant as parody.
Delete