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AN ORDINANCE APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF A COMPENSATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE GAHANNA-JEFFERSON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
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WHEREAS, it has been and is in the best interests of the City and the Gahanna-Jefferson City School District (the "School District") for the City to designate certain areas for commercial and other business development; and
WHEREAS, Sections 5709.40, 5709.42 and 5709.43 of the Ohio Revised Code ("Revised Code") provide that this Council may declare improvements to parcels of real property located in the City to be a public purpose, thereby exempting those improvements from real property taxation for a period of time; specify public infrastructure improvements to be made to benefit the parcels; provide for the making of service payments in lieu of taxes by the owners thereof; provide for payments to the School District; and establish a municipal public improvement tax increment equivalent fund into which such service payments shall be deposited; and
WHEREAS, this Council, under the authority of Section 5709.40, Revised Code, this Council intends to adopt Ordinance No. 990164(the "TIF Ordinance") on August 16, 1999, and therein designate an area within the City as the "Eastgate Industrial Center TIF District" (the "Eastgate TIF District", with the parcels comprising the real property within the Eastgate TIF District referred to herein as the "Parcels" and, each individually as a "Parcel", and with the Parcels in the aggregate referred to herein as the "Property"); and
WHEREAS, the City expects that the owners of the Parcels will construct or cause to be constructed certain projects (each a "Project") upon those various Parcels thereby improving each Parcel (each improvement having the meaning as set forth in Section 5709.40, Revised Code, and collectively referred to herein as the "Private Improvements") consistent with the objectives stated in the TIF Ordinance; and
WHEREAS, the City expects to make or cause to be made the public infrastructure improvements (as described in the TIF Ordinance and referred to herein as the "Infrastructure Improvements"), that once made would directly benefit the Property with all of the incremental demand placed upon the Infrastructure Improvements being directly attributable to the Private Improvements; and
WHEREAS, the City and the School District will derive substantial and significant benefits from the Private Improvements and the Infrastructure Improvements; and
WHEREAS, in the TIF Ordinance, the City declared the Private Improvements to be a "public purpose" and exempted 100% of the assessed valuation of the Private Improvements from real property taxation for a period of 30 years in accordance with Section 5709.40, Revised Code; provided, however, that:
(i) during the first ten (10) years of each exemption under the TIF Ordinance, the School District will receive from the City service payments in lieu of taxes such that, for the Private Improvements that cannot be the subject of the CRA #4 exemption referred to below, the effective percentage of that TIF exemption will be 75% as to the School District; and
(ii) during years eleven (11) through thirty (30) of each exemption under the TIF Ordinance, the School District will receive, pursuant to Section 5709.40(B)(1) of the Revised Code, payments in lieu of taxes under Section 5709.42 of the Revised Code in the amount of the taxes that would have been payable to the School District if the Private Improvements subject to the TIF Ordinance had not been exempted from taxation; and
WHEREAS, the Eastgate TIF District overlaps with Community Reinvestment Area #4 (the "Eastgate CRA"), a community reinvestment area within the meaning of Sections 3735.65 through 3735.70, Revised Code, as previously designated by the City in Substitute Resolution No. 16-95 (the "CRA #4 Resolution") adopted March 7, 1995; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the CRA #4 Resolution, qualifying structures constructed within the Eastgate CRA are eligible for 100% real property tax exemptions for up to 15 years, but as further consideration for the School District entering into the Compensation Agreement (defined in Section 1 hereof), the City will adopt legislation providing that any exemptions granted after the date of the Compensation Agreement pursuant to the CRA #4 Resolution will be for ten (10) years or less; and
WHEREAS, the City has heretofore designated four other CRAs in the City, i.e., CRA #1, CRA #2, CRA #3 and CRA #5, which were designated in Resolution No. 24-96, adopted July 2, 1996, Resolution No. 7-91, adopted May 21, 1991, Resolution No. 17-95, adopted March 7, 1995, and Resolution No. 53-92, adopted December 2, 1992, respectively.
WHEREAS, prior to the passage of the TIF Ordinance, the City in accordance with Section 5709.40, Revised Code, provided notice of the proposed passage of the TIF Ordinance to the School District; and
WHEREAS, on August 12, 1999, the Board of the School District adopted a resolution (the "School District Resolution") approving the Compensation Agreement and the exemption of the Private Improvements as provided in the TIF Ordinance and waived any further requirements of Sections 5709.40, 5709.82, 5709.83 and 5715.27(D), Revised Code, on the condition that the City execute and deliver the Compensation Agreement; and
WHEREAS, to facilitate the construction of the Private Improvements and to compensate the School District for (a) the tax revenue that the School District would have received had the Private Improvements been made and not been exempted from taxation and (b) the tax revenue the School District would have received with respect to new structures in the other CRAs in the City, the City and the School District have determined to enter into the Compensation Agreement;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the City of Gahanna, County of Franklin, State of Ohio, that:
Section 1. Approval of Compensation Agreement. The agreement between the City and the School District providing for compensation to the School District for (a) the tax revenue that the School District would have received had the Private Improvements been made and not been exempted from taxation and (b) the tax revenue the School District would have received with respect to new structures in the other CRAs in the City (the "Compensation Agreement"), a copy of which is on file with the Clerk of Council, is hereby approved, and the Mayor of the City is hereby authorized, subject to final legal review, to execute the Compensation Agreement on behalf of the City in substantially the form on file with the Clerk of Council, together with such revisions or additions thereto as are approved by the Director of Development of the City, and the Mayor, the Director of Development and other City officials, as appropriate, are further authorized to provide such information and to execute, certify or furnish such other documents or agreements as are not substantially adverse to the TIF Ordinance, and to do all other things as are necessary for and incidental to carrying out the provisions of the Compensation Agreement and the TIF Ordinance. This Council further authorizes the Mayor, for and in the name of the City, to execute any amendments to the Compensation Agreement, which amendments are not inconsistent with the TIF Ordinance and not substantially adverse to the City.
Section 2. Open Meetings. This Council finds and determines that all formal actions of this Council concerning and relating to the passage of this ordinance were taken in an open meeting of this Council and that all deliberations of this Council that resulted in those formal actions were in meetings open to the public in compliance with the law.
Section 3. Further Authorizations. The Mayor or the Director of Development are each authorized to prepare and sign all agreements and instruments and to take any other actions as may be appropriate to implement this ordinance.
Section 4. Effective Date. This ordinance is declared to be an emergency measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, property, health, safety or welfare of this City and for the further reason that this ordinance is required to be immediately effective in order to provide for the funding for the Infrastructure Improvements so that the Infrastructure Improvements may be constructed as quickly as possible, thereby enhancing traffic safety; wherefore, this ordinance shall be in full force and effect immediately upon its passage.
Legislation prepared:
Squire Sanders Dempsey