Petition Mayor Gray to keep promise to support H Street retail

The H Street NE Retail Priority Area Incentive Act of 2010 unanimously passed the Council -- chaired by Mr. Gray -- in December 2010.  The legislation requires that the tax increment already collected from the H Street corridor be reinvested in two ways: 1) a new grant program to retain and recruit retail small businesses on the corridor, tied to new job creation, and 2) fund a previously approved, but unfunded, tax abatement for the project at 3rd and H Street (where a mixed use residential development with a Giant grocery store, underground parking, and other retail will break ground soon).
The grant program works by supporting targeted retail development on H Street (excluding restaurants, bars, phone stores, etc.) and requires that the new developments create jobs and hire District residents.

Unfortunately, the Mayor has decided to use the collected tax funds to pay for the tax abatement at 3rd and H Street, but not allow the remaining funds to be used for the H Street retail priority grant program.  The funds are available, but the Mayor’s budget office has proposed funding the tax abatement, but leaving the retail grant funds unspent for the fiscal year, holding them to pay for spending pressures elsewhere in the city’s budget.

If you agree that the funds collected on H Street should go towards promoting H Street retail as per the unanimously enacted legislation, please consider signing this petition calling on Mayor Gray to restore the grant funding.