Santa Clara Offers the 49ers Its Hotels

The Santa Clara City Council took a step forward Tuesday night to  establishing a 2 percent hotel tax to generate revenue for the proposed  stadium for the San Francisco 49ers next to the Great America theme park.

The City Council voted 5-1 in favor of resolutions aimed at  establishing a community facilities district, which would include the  participation of the eight hotels within the vicinity of the theme park.

Councilman Will Kennedy was the sole dissenter.

Guests of hotels in the district would be required to pay an  additional 2 percent tax on their bill. The tax would not affect the city's  9.5 percent transient occupancy tax.
     
However, establishment of the district is subject to the approval  of the hotels involved. Hotel owners are required to return their ballots by  May 4 and the first reading of the special tax ordinance will occur at a  council meeting on May 11.
     
Steve Van Dorn, president and CEO of the Santa Clara Chamber of  Commerce, spoke in favor of the tax and said he believes it will boost the  hotel business.
     
The hotel tax would start with the first game at the stadium and  would continue for a period of about 40 years.
     
The tax would be used to generate $35 million of the $937 million  needed for the 68,500-seat stadium. The 49ers have agreed to raise $493  million and another $330 million would be generated by stadium authority and  through vendor contracts, deputy city manager Carol McCarthy said.
     
The tax would be applied to the eight hotels in the vicinity of  the proposed stadium, which combined make up 70 percent of the city's 3,800  hotel rooms.
     
The hotels within the community facilities district are the Hyatt  Regency, Santa Clara Hilton, Santa Clara Marriott, Avatar Hotel, The Plaza  Suites, Embassy Suites, Biltmore Hotel and Hotel Sierra.
     
The City Council also approved 5-1 to adopt an amendment  to the redevelopment plan for the Bayshore North Project as recommended by  the Redevelopment Agency.
     
The stadium proposal will go before voters in the June 8 primary  election. If the vote passes, the hotel tax will go into effect when the  stadium opens. If the proposal is not approved, the community facilities  district will be terminated.
 

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