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AN ORDINANCE CREATING AN INCENTIVE DISTRICT ENCOMPASSING CERTAIN PARCELS OF REAL PROPERTY; DECLARING THE IMPROVEMENT TO CERTAIN PARCELS WITHIN THAT DISTRICT TO BE A PUBLIC PURPOSE AND EXEMPT FROM TAXATION; ESTABLISHING A TAX INCREMENT EQUIVALENT FUND AND PROVIDING FOR THE COLLECTION AND DEPOSIT OF SERVICE PAYMENTS INTO THAT FUND; PROVIDING FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF SERVICE PAYMENTS TO THE GAHANNA-JEFFERSON PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT; SPECIFYING THE PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS DIRECTLY BENEFITING THE PARCELS; AND APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF ONE OR MORE TAX INCREMENT FINANCING AGREEMENTS; TO REPEAL ORD-0213-2005; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.
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WHEREAS, Gahanna-Creekside Investments LLC ("Developer") proposes to provide a mix of neighborhood residential and commercial uses through the residential and commercial redevelopment of the Creekside area located downtown (the "Project"), which is made up of the parcels of real estate described on Exhibit A hereto (each, individually, a "Parcel" and collectively, the "Parcels"); and
WHEREAS, on December 19, 2005, this Council passed Ordinance No. 0213-2005 (the "Prior Ordinance"), declaring the improvements to each Parcel to be a public purpose and exempt from taxation, requiring the owner of each Parcel to make service payments in lieu of taxes, providing for the distribution of the applicable portion of such service payments to the city, and school district, and establishing a municipal public improvement tax increment equivalent fund for the deposit of the remainder of such service payments and specify public infrastructure improvements made or to be made that benefit or serve the Parcels, all pursuant Ohio Revised Code Section 5709.41; and
WHEREAS, subsequent to the passage of the prior Ordinance this Council determined that the City could not be classified as a an "impacted city" as defined in Ohio Revised Code Section 1728.01, and therefore did not comply with the statutory requirements of Ohio Revised Code Section 5709.41(B)(2), under which the prior Ordinance was passed; and
WHEREAS, since the City does not fit within the classification of an impacted city, this Council has determined that the declarations and authorizations set forth in the prior Ordinance are no longer necessary and has determined to repeal the prior Ordinance; and
WHEREAS, Ohio Revised Code Sections 5709.40(C), 5709.42 and 5709.43 (collectively, the "TIF Statutes") authorize the legislative authority of a municipal corporation, by ordinance, to create an incentive district, declare the improvement to each parcel of real property located within the incentive district to be a public purpose and exempt from taxation, require the owner of each parcel to make service payments in lieu of taxes, provide for the distribution of the applicable portion of such service payments to the city, local or exempted village school district, establish a municipal public improvement tax increment equivalent fund for the deposit of the remainder of such service payments and specify public infrastructure improvements made or to be made that benefit or serve the parcels in the incentive district; and
WHEREAS, this Council has determined to create an incentive district known as the Creekside Incentive District (the "Incentive District"), the boundary of which shall be coextensive with the boundary of, and shall include, the Parcels; and
WHEREAS, by Ordinance No. 0002-2003, passed on February 3, 2003, this Council previously approved the City of Gahanna Land Use Plan Update, which includes a plan for development of the Incentive District (the "Development Plan"), which plan is on file in the office of the Clerk of Council; and
WHEREAS, the City Engineer has certified to this Council that (i) the Incentive District is less than 300 acres in size, (ii) the Incentive District is enclosed by a continuous boundary, and (iii) the public infrastructure serving the Incentive District is inadequate to meet the development needs of the Parcels as evidenced by the Development Plan; and
WHEREAS, this Council has determined that the applicable portion of the service payments shall be paid to the Gahanna-Jefferson Public School District, Ohio (the "School District") in an amount equal to the real property taxes that the School District would have been paid if the Improvement (as defined herein) to each Parcel had not been exempted from taxation pursuant to this Ordinance; and
WHEREAS, notice of this proposed Ordinance has been delivered to the Board of Education of each affected school district in accordance with and within the time periods prescribed in Ohio Revised Code Sections 5709.40 and 5709.83; and
WHEREAS, this Council has determined to provide for the execution and delivery of one or more tax increment financing agreements to provide for the development of the Parcels; and
WHEREAS, this Ordinance is required to be immediately effective in order to subject the value of the improvements for the year in which this ordinance is passed to the TIF created by this ordinance, all for the preservation of the public peace, health, safety, and welfare;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA, STATE OF OHIO
Section 1. That Ordinance No. 0213-2005 passed on December 19, 2005, is hereby repealed effective as of the effective date of this Ordinance.
Section 2. That pursuant to the TIF Statutes, this Council hereby creates the "Creekside Incentive District", the boundaries of which shall be coextensive with the boundaries of the Parcels and shall include the Parcels as specifically identified and depicted in EXHIBIT A.
Section 3. That this Council hereby finds and determines that 100% of the increase in assessed value of each Parcel subsequent to the effective date of this Ordinance (which increase in assessed value is hereinafter referred to as the "Improvement" as defined in Ohio Revised Code Section 5709.40(A)) is hereby declared to be a public purpose and shall be exempt from taxation for a period coextensive with the life of the Incentive District, which commences with the tax year during which the effective date of this Ordinance occurs and ends on the earlier of (a) thirty (30) years after such commencement or (b) the date on which the City can no longer require service payments in lieu of taxes, all in accordance with the requirements of the TIF Statutes.
Section 4. That as provided in Ohio Revised Code Section 5709.42, the Owner of each Parcel is hereby required to and shall make service payments in lieu of taxes with respect to the Improvement allocable thereto to the Treasurer of Franklin County, Ohio (the "County Treasurer") on or before the final dates for payment of real property taxes. Each service payment in lieu of taxes shall be charged and collected in the same manner and in the same amount as the real property taxes that would have been charged and payable against that Improvement if it were not exempt from taxation pursuant to Section 3 of this Ordinance, including any penalties and interest (collectively, the "Service Payments"). The Service Payments, and any other payments with respect to each Improvement that are received by the County Treasurer in connection with the reduction required by Ohio Revised Code Sections 319.302, 321.24, 323.152 and 323.156, as the same may be amended from time to time, or any successor provisions thereto as the same may be amended from time to time (the "Property Tax Rollback Payments"), shall be allocated and distributed in accordance with Section 5 of this Ordinance.
Section 5. That pursuant to the TIF Statutes, the County Treasurer is requested to distribute the Service Payments and the Property Tax Rollback Payments as follows:
- to the School District, an amount equal to the amounts the School District would otherwise receive as real property tax payments (including the applicable portion of any Property Tax Rollback Payments) derived from the Improvement to each Parcel located within the School District absent the exemption provided for in this Ordinance, and
- to the City, all remaining amounts for further deposit into the Fund (as defined in Section 6 of this Ordinance).
All distributions required under this Section 5 are requested to be made at the same time and in the same manner as real property tax distributions.
Section 6. That this Council hereby establishes, pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of Ohio Revised Code Section 5709.43, the Creekside Development Project Municipal Public Improvement Tax Increment Equivalent Fund (the "Fund"). The Fund shall be maintained in the custody of the City and shall receive all distributions to be made to the City pursuant to Section 5 of this Ordinance. Those Service Payments and Property Tax Rollback Payments received by the City with respect to the Improvement of each Parcel and so deposited pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Sections 5709.42 and 5709.43 shall be used solely for the purposes authorized in the TIF Statutes and this Ordinance. The Fund shall remain in existence so long as Service Payments and Property Tax Rollback Payments are collected and used for the aforesaid purposes, after which time the Fund shall be dissolved and any surplus funds remaining therein transferred to the City's General Fund, all in accordance with Ohio Revised Code Section 5709.43.
Section 7. That this Council hereby designates the public infrastructure improvements described in EXHIBIT B attached hereto and any other public infrastructure improvements hereafter designated by ordinance as public infrastructure improvements made or to be made that benefit or serve the Parcels in the Incentive District.
Section 8. That in accordance with Am. Sub. H.B. 66 Section 557.17, the City has previously executed a Development Agreement and an Infrastructure Agreement with the Developer each prior to December 31, 2005, pursuant to which City contracted with the Developer to construct certain of the Public Infrastructure Improvements, and as such this Ordinance is subject to Ohio Revised Code Section 5709.40(C), as in effect prior to January 1, 2006. The City shall use amounts obtained from the Funds to pay costs associated with the construction of the Public Infrastructure Improvements, including the repayment of principal and interest on bonds and other debt obligations issued in connection with construction of the Public Infrastructure Improvements.
Section 9. That this Council hereby authorizes and directs the Mayor, the Director of Development or other appropriate officers of the City, to make such arrangements as are necessary and proper for collection from the Owners of the Service Payments. This Council further hereby authorizes and directs the Mayor, the Director of Development or other appropriate officers of the City to prepare and sign all agreements and instruments and to take any other actions as may be appropriate to implement this Ordinance.
Section 10. That pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 5709.40(I), the Clerk of this Council is hereby directed to deliver a copy of this Ordinance to the Director of the Department of Development of the State of Ohio within fifteen days after its passage. On or before March 31 of each year that the exemption set forth in Section 4 hereof remains in effect, the Director of Development or other authorized officer of this City shall prepare and submit to the Director of the Ohio Department of Development the status report required under Section 5709.40(I) of the Ohio Revised Code.
Section 11. That this Council finds and determines that all formal actions of this Council and any of its committees concerning and relating to the passage of this Ordinance were taken in an open meeting of this Council or its committees, and that all deliberations of this Council and any of its committees that resulted in those formal actions were in meetings open to the public, all in compliance with the law including Ohio Revised Code Section 121.22.
Section 12. That, for the reasons set forth in the preamble hereinabove, this ordinance is declared emergency legislation and shall be in full force and effect after passage by this Council and on date of signature approval by the Mayor.