Town Square

Church Coffee Shop Downtown

Original post made by Meredith, Downtown, on Jan 4, 2016

I was hoping the Weekly could do some investigate reporting into whether or not the Inklings 'coffee shop'/church is exempt from paying taxes because of religious activities that will take place at the location. To me it seems very unfair to the other businesses nearby. A lot of people are frustrated and concerned that this is really a church with a coffee shop front. What was wrong with using the Church for it's activities planned for Inklings? From everything that has been said, the location will at times be 'open to the public' when not used for church gatherings and the like. This seems very exclusive and not appropriate for our downtown, or really any downtown for that matter. We have numerous coffee shops downtown and a large public library close to downtown for study halls. Many of us our wondering how this church is able to finance this space and survive without getting additional resources and support from the city. Please provide more insight into this idea and also what the city plan is to increase activity downtown.

Comments (2)

Posted by Name hidden
a resident of Birdland

on Jan 4, 2016 at 4:17 pm

Due to repeated violations of our Terms of Use, comments from this poster are automatically removed. Why?

Posted by res
a resident of Birdland
on Jan 4, 2016 at 5:29 pm

Unless I missed something, I don't think the Church is buying the property but rather is renting/leasing it. The property owner will still need to pay the property taxes. As for sales tax, unless they are saying the coffee/food cost is a donation and not a purchase, they will need to pay sales tax. I don't know how the fees work for the Pleasanton Downtown District and if that is charged to the property owner or the renter but assume it is the property owner.

While I wish there was a better use going in there, this is probably better than another bank downtown.. Hum, come to think of it, that building was a bank.

Report Objectionable Content

Email Town Square Moderator

Don't miss out on the discussion!
Sign up to be notified of new comments on this topic.

Town Square

Church Coffee Shop Downtown

Stay informed.

Index