A business tax will reap millions for Santa Clara if residents approve a ballot measure in November. Voters will be asked whether the city should update the “headcount” tax business license fee, which has not been revised in 30 years and charges $15 to $500 annually based on the industry and number of employees. On...
How much will Santa Clara lose when Great America closes?
Santa Clara expects steep losses of more than half a million dollars in revenue each year when Great America shuts its gates within the next decade. News last week of the amusement park’s $310 million sale to San Francisco-based real estate firm Prologis shocked Silicon Valley. This comes on the heels of Santa Clara already...
UPDATE: Santa Clara delays putting business tax before voters
Santa Clara leaders are holding off on putting a business tax before voters in order to allow for more input from a local business group. The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to wait until July 11 to vote on placing a measure on the November ballot to increase the city’s business “headcount” tax to close...
‘End of an era’: Silicon Valley mourns losing Great America
The clock is ticking down at the South Bay’s beloved amusement park, and residents throughout Silicon Valley have been reflecting on the loss. Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, which owns California’s Great America in Santa Clara, announced Monday that it is selling the 46-year-old property for $310 million to San-Francisco based Prologis, a national real estate...
Silicon Valley business group opposes proposed headcount tax
Santa Clara could ask residents to approve a business tax overhaul in November, despite opposition from regional commerce leaders. If passed, it could bring in millions. The Silicon Valley Central Chamber of Commerce sent a letter Monday to Santa Clara’s mayor and City Council opposing any “dramatic increase” in the business license tax companies pay....
Santa Clara sees Coldplay perform past usual curfew
A crowd of 50,000 Coldplay fans reveled at a Sunday concert at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara—later than usual. In November, the Santa Clara City Council voted to allow an exception of five events to its noise ordinance ban at Levi’s Stadium. The noise ordinance requires the stadium to go dark by 10 p.m. on...
Employer headcount tax could be Santa Clara’s deficit solution
The city of Santa Clara is bleeding red, and big business may be at the center of its new strategy for economic recovery. Santa Clara is facing a nearly $20 million budget deficit in the upcoming fiscal year and needs to find new revenue streams. Under a newly proposed business license tax structure, the city...
Santa Clara workers reach tentative agreement, avoid strike
Santa Clara field operations and maintenance workers say they’ve reached a payment agreement with the city to avoid a strike set for Monday. Santa Clara officials proposed new contract terms in a special closed City Council meeting on Thursday. The contract, valid until Dec. 31, 2024, covers about 125 employees, according to Gary Ferraris, president...
UPDATE: Santa Clara city workers ready to go on strike
Some Santa Clara city employees plan to strike if negotiations toward a new labor contract continue to stall. Gary Ferraris, president of the union AFSCME Local 4911, told the City Council Tuesday the city’s Unit 6 field operations and maintenance workers will strike on May 1—International Workers’ Day—if a resolution isn’t reached. There are about...
Going to Santa Clara’s Central Park? Watch where you step
Santa Clara’s Central Park has a goose problem. More specifically, a goose poop problem. The park is home to—by one count—about 176 Canada geese, and each one drops roughly a pound of excrement every day. Over a year, that adds up to more than 63,000 pounds of feces dropped at the park, according to a...