More on the mall incentive

One thing that hit the cutting room floor of today's story about the city of Tracy's plan to give Macy's $2.75 million to move into the struggling West Valley Mall is a word about where the money's coming from.

The residential specific plan is a document that guided growth in the city for some time a couple decades back. The money the city is using for Macy's — which will be augmented by a similar amount of money from General Growth Properties — came from a settlement with developers who built under that RSP.

Even after builders mitigated the impacts of those various developments scattered across the city, I've been told, there were disputes that the city didn't get all the money and fees it was entitled to. So there was a suit, and a settlement. That settlement left Tracy with about $5 million to use for one-time capital improvements.

It's what helped pay for the City Stimulus: master planning of vast stretches of western Tracy, the $500 auto mall gift card program, and the $1 million small business loan fund. Now, it's being used to help boost the mall before it reaches the point of no economic return.

We'll have more on this in a follow-up report before Tuesday's City Council meeting, where 3 of 2 council members will have to approve spending the money if Macy's is going to come to Tracy.