To the editor,

The City Council passed a PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) with five-year 100% tax exemptions for Northridge's apartments, saying "it's a win-win," and "not going to cost taxpayers a penny." That’s not true after property values jump tens of millions and tenants come.

In August, the council and mayor called all crowd opposition uninformed. President Dana Sande stated people wouldn't be opposed if they understood exemptions, so I’ll explain. During exemptions, developers pay pre-2025 taxes, plus 0-10% of improvements’ taxes. Northridge pays the base, but nothing on $30,000,000 improvements, for five years. The other three apartment PILOTS have 90-100% exemptions for 15-20 years. Five new proposals come soon. The council says interest rates and costs are prohibitive, while v

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