Explanation
BACKGROUND: The City, with Franklin County, Confluence Community Authority, Crew SC Development Company, LLC, and Crew SC Stadium Company, LLC, entered into a Development Agreement and First Amendment authorized by Ordinance 1730-2019 and Second Amendment authorized by Ordinance 1492-2021 (all three collectively, the “EDA”). The parties made commitments relating to the development of a new multi-purpose sports, entertainment, cultural and recreational facility (the “Stadium”); a project containing mixed-use retail, entertainment, residential, hospitality, office and/or commercial uses (the “Mixed-Use Development” and together with the Stadium, the “Project”); and the adjacent structured parking (the “Parking Facility”) near the western terminus of Nationwide Boulevard and the Olentangy River. In order to further implement the EDA, Ordinance 2545-2020 (the “TIF Ordinance”) was passed by City Council to amend for a second time Ordinance 1648-2016, which established the “Jaeger TIF,” to remove additional parcels from those remaining in the Jaeger TIF in order to establish the new “Stadium 41 TIF” with some of the new parcels removed from the Jaeger TIF. The non-school portion of the Stadium 41 TIF service payments will be paid to the City for deposit into the new Stadium 41 TIF Fund to be used to finance the development of the Project and other approved purposes pursuant to the TIF & Cooperative Agreement between the City, the Confluence Community Authority, and Confluence Development, LLC (the “TIF Agreement”) authorized by Ordinance 2571-2020. Pursuant to the TIF Agreement, those parties agreed the City would amend the TIF Ordinance in order to remove the “Parking Facility Parcel,” as that term is defined in the EDA, from the Stadium 41 TIF area. Now that the Parking Facility Parcel (Parcel No. 010-303974 or also shown as Lot Number “6” on Instrument No. 202110250194046 titled the “Astor Park Garage and Cahill Drive” attached hereto as Exhibit A) has been approved and platted, this legislation will remove the Parking Facility Parcel from the Stadium 41 TIF.
FISCAL IMPACT: No funding is required for this legislation.
EMERGENCY JUSTIFICATION: Emergency legislation is requested in order to timely amend the Stadium 41 TIF to remove the Parking Facility Parcel, as contemplated in the EDA and the TIF Agreement, thereby allowing the Project and the Parking Facility construction to timely and efficiently move forward without unnecessary delay, which will preserve the public peace, health, property, safety, and welfare.
Title
To amend Ordinance 2545-2020 to remove the parking facility parcel from the existing Stadium 41 TIF area; and to declare an emergency.
Body
WHEREAS, the City with Franklin County, Confluence Community Authority, Crew SC Development Company, LLC, and Crew SC Stadium Company, LLC, entered into a Development Agreement and First Amendment authorized by Ordinance 1730-2019 and Second Amendment authorized by Ordinance 1492-2021 (all three collectively, the “EDA”); and
WHEREAS, the EDA provides for, among other things, the development of a new multi-purpose sports, entertainment, cultural and recreational facility (the “Stadium”) and a project containing mixed-use retail, entertainment, residential, hospitality, office and/or commercial uses (the “Mixed-Use Development” together with the Stadium, the “Project”) and the adjacent structured parking (the “Parking Facility”) near the western terminus of Nationwide Boulevard and the Olentangy River; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the EDA, in order for the City to support the development of the Project with tax increment financing, City Council passed Ordinance 2545-2020 (the “TIF Ordinance”) to amend and restructure the Jaeger TIF authorized by Ordinance 1648-2016 by removing the Project parcels, including the area of the future Parking Facility parcel, from the Jaeger TIF area and declaring the improvements to the Project parcels to be a public purpose under new tax increment financing pursuant to Sections 5709.41, 5709.42 and 5709.43 of the Ohio Revised Code (the “Stadium 41 TIF”); and
WHEREAS, as contemplated in the EDA, Ordinance 2571-2020 authorized the Director of Development to enter into the TIF & Cooperative Agreement dated as of February 23, 2021 (the “TIF Agreement”) with the Confluence Community Authority and Confluence Development, LLC, to provide for the remittance of the non-school portion of the Stadium 41 TIF service payments to the Confluence Community Authority to secure a loan from the state and/or development bonds issued for the Project; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the TIF Agreement, the parties agreed the City would amend the TIF Ordinance in order to remove the “Parking Facility Parcel,” as that term is defined in the EDA, from the Stadium 41 TIF area; and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operations of the Department of Development in that it is necessary to timely amend the Stadium 41 TIF to remove the Parking Facility Parcel, as contemplated in the EDA and the TIF Agreement, thereby allowing the Project and Parking Facility construction to timely and efficiently move forward without unnecessary delay for the preservation of the public health, peace, safety and welfare without delay; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
Section 1. Removal of Parcels and Property from Existing Stadium 41 TIF. In accordance with the EDA and the TIF Agreement, that Exhibit B of Ordinance 2545-2020 passed November 23, 2020 is hereby repealed and replaced with Exhibit B attached hereto to remove from the former Parcel No. 010-300554 within the Stadium 41 TIF area a certain parcel identified as Parcel No. 010-303974 on Exhibit B attached hereto at the northwest corner of Columbus Crew Way and Cahill Drive (the “Parking Facility Parcel”) and as also shown on Exhibit A (Instrument No. 202110250194046) identified as Lot Number “6”.
Section 2. Effective Date. For the reasons stated in the Preamble hereto, which is hereby made a part hereof, this Ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure and shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and approval by the Mayor or ten days after the passage if the Mayor neither approves nor vetoes the same.