Developers tell commission LUCA must address cost pressures or projects won't pencil

Multiple developer representatives and project advisors told the commission that the cumulative cost of proposed requirements threatens project feasibility. Rebecca Bloom, chief investment officer at Columbia Pacific Advisors, described a 9‑acre, 1.2 million‑square‑foot project and cautioned that layering expensive requirements on top of high construction and financing costs would deter delivery of promised amenities. "Otherwise, it becomes death by 1000 cuts, and development will not be feasible and may not occur," she said.

Economists and chamber representatives echoed the point and asked for targeted calibrations: allow exemptions for steep slopes, re-evaluate prescriptive street construction on landlocked sites, expand development-agreement eligibility, and provide day-1 offset tools. Staff acknowledged market pressures and said the LUCA both increases development capacity (raising base FAR and heights in many districts) and offers incentive tools, but commissioners asked staff to return with clearer analyses on how incentive options and MFTE interactions would affect near-term feasibility.