Explanation
Background:
Scioto Peninsula Holdings, Ltd. (the “Developer”) and the City entered into a 99-year lease, pursuant to Ordinance No. 0193-2017, and an Economic Development Agreement, pursuant to Ordinance No. 3121-2016, for its Scioto Peninsula project that will redevelop City-owned property located on the Scioto Peninsula immediately west of the Center of Science and Industry (COSI). The City and the Developer desire to form a new community authority pursuant to ORC Chapter 349 to support that redevelopment. On December 5, 2019, a Petition for the Organization of the Scioto Peninsula New Community Authority was submitted to City Council. City Council, as the organizational board of commissioners, is now required by ORC Chapter 349 to determine the sufficiency of the Petition and set a public hearing date on the Petition.
Emergency Justification: Emergency action is requested in order to facilitate the development of this project in a timely manner.
Fiscal Impact: No funding is required for this legislation.
Title
To determine that the petition to establish the Scioto Peninsula New Community Authority is sufficient and complies with the requirements of the Ohio Revised Code; to set the time and place for a hearing on the petition and authorize the notice of such hearing by publication; and to declare an emergency.
Body
WHEREAS, Scioto Peninsula Holdings, Ltd. (the “Developer”) has proposed to redevelop property located on the Scioto Peninsula immediately west of the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) by constructing a mixed use commercial and residential development known as the Scioto Peninsula Project with a first phase consisting of a hotel with approximately 197 rooms, up to 550 residential units, and approximately 240,000 square feet of office space, together with supportive retail, along with various road, sewer, water, public space and parking improvements to support the development; and
WHEREAS, to support the redevelopment of the project site, the City has agreed to support the formation of a new community authority for the site; and
WHEREAS, a Petition for the Organization of the Scioto Peninsula New Community Authority (the “Authority”) under ORC Chapter 349 (the “Petition”) has been submitted to this Council; and
WHEREAS, the Authority’s new community district, as described in the Petition, is located entirely within the municipal corporate boundaries of the City, and this Council, as the legislative authority of the City, is therefore the organizational board of commissioners for purposes of the Petition; and
WHEREAS, this Council has reviewed the Petition, and by this resolution desires to legislatively determine, pursuant to ORC Section 349.03, that the Petition complies with the requirements of that section as to form and substance, to set the time and place of a hearing on the Petition and authorize the notice by publication of the hearing on the Petition; and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operation of the Department of Development in that it is immediately necessary to make the legislative determinations regarding the sufficiency of the Petition in order to facilitate the redevelopment of the project site and for the preservation of the public health, peace, property, safety, and welfare; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS that:
Section 1. This Council hereby acknowledges and determines that, pursuant to ORC Section 349.01(F)(3), it is the “organizational board of commissioners” of the Authority for all purposes of ORC Chapter 349.
Section 2. This Council has examined the Petition and finds and determines that the Petition is sufficient and complies with the requirements of ORC Section 349.03 in form and substance. The execution of the Petition on behalf of the City is hereby ratified and on file in the offices of the Economic Development Division.
Section 3. This Council hereby determines to hold a public hearing on the Petition on January 7, 2020, at the City Department of Development Offices, 111 N. Front St., 8th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215, at 3:30 p.m., and this Council hereby authorizes each of the City Attorney, the Clerk of Council, and the City Director of Development, or any of them individually, to cause notice of the hearing to be published once a week for three consecutive weeks, or as provided in Revised Code Section 7.16, in a newspaper of general circulation within Franklin County, Ohio, pursuant to ORC Section 349.03(A). All prior notices published for such hearing are hereby ratified.
Section 4. For the reasons stated in the Preamble hereto, which is hereby made a part hereof, this resolution 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.