Explanation
BACKGROUND: In 2003, the City and the Columbus Urban Growth Corporation (“Columbus Urban”) desired to create a tax increment financing (“TIF”) area and to enter into a TIF agreement to pay for certain public infrastructure improvements and to otherwise support the former Northland Mall site. On December 15, 2003, Columbus City Council passed Ordinance No. 2628-2003 creating a tax increment financing area over parts of the former Northland Mall site that had also been acquired by Columbus Urban and transferred between the City and Columbus Urban (the “Northland TIF”). Ordinance No. 2628-2003 also established the Northland Urban Redevelopment Tax Increment Equivalent Fund (the “Fund”) for the deposit of non-school service payments in lieu of taxes (the “Service Payments”) to pay for or finance the costs of improvements to or on, or servicing the property or project located within the Northland TIF area. The City never entered into a TIF agreement with Columbus Urban, who is now defunct, and the Northland Mall site within the Northland TIF area and its improvements have been completed without the use of such Service Payments.
Due to the forgoing reasons, the City desires to supplement the use of the Service Payments within and to be deposited into the Fund to be used to support other urban redevelopment and public infrastructure improvements. In addition, the City requests such supplemented improvements may be within and around the greater Northland planning area described in the Northland Plan: Volume I adopted by City Council on January 29, 2001 and the Northland Plan: Volume II adopted by City Council on June 24, 2002 as generally bounded by the Worthington corporate boundary/railroad to the west, Cooke/Ferris/Morse Roads to the south, the New Albany corporate boundary to the east, and S.R. 161/Central College Road/I-270 to the north (altogether, “Northland”). The City has identified initial project locations within Northland including, but not limi...
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