This map shows the proposed Johnson County I-65 TIF area.
Submitted
After months of debate and multiple edits, the Johnson County Redevelopment Commission has reached a decision on which parcels to include in the Interstate 65 tax increment financing (TIF) district.
The I-65 TIF district — the second of two TIF districts for the county — has been stalled since April, when the mayors of Franklin and Greenwood called on the county to rethink its size and impact on the cities. A separate Interstate 69 TIF district was approved earlier this year.
The purpose of the TIF districts is to spur development in specific unincorporated areas of Johnson County. Taxes collected from commercial or industrial developments in the TIF district would remain in the district to be used for infrastructure improvements. TIF districts open the door to tax breaks and other incentives for developers.
The commission voted 4-1 on Monday night to forward the map to the Johnson County Board of Commissioners. R. Lee Money voted nay and said he would rather see the commission revert back to the map as it was presented before.
Previously, the map included all of Clark Township, areas of Pleasant Township around Tracy Road, Emerson Avenue and Combs Road, and unincorporated areas east and south of Franklin.
It was scaled down to include unincorporated areas near Earlywood Drive in Franklin, including the area east of Hurricane Creek to County Road 700 East.
The TIF district runs north along I-65 to Whiteland, where it is drawn around every parcel of unincorporated land between I-65 and U.S. 31 near the town, and stretches east of I-65.
East of Greenwood, there would be space between the city limits and the county’s proposed TIF district, with western boundaries at Nay Road, Matthews Road and Franklin Road, and an eastern boundary at Harvey Road.
The current map was presented last month to mixed reviews, and the commission voted to continue it to the October meeting to give themselves more time to consider the changes.
Money and dozens of Clark Township residents objected to the map because they would like to see the county have a seat at the table to develop the area east of the city.
Residents said they trust the county to develop the land more than Greenwood. That is based on the county’s history of developing larger lot subdivisions, compared to Greenwood’s history of approving smaller lot subdivisions. They say the area is developing too fast and Clark-Pleasant schools are being forced to grow too fast.
Though he did not do so publicly, Whiteland Town Manager Kevin McGinnis told the Daily Journal he objected to the map because it boxes in Whiteland and restricts future commercial and industrial development.
Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers and Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett participated in negotiations for the map and reached compromises to give their cities more room to grow and avoid interrupting development that is already in the works.
Myers said he is OK with the map, while Barnett said the map as presented is an advantage to the city. That is because it would make the county RDC an ally to potentially land a new I-65 exit at Earlywood Drive.
At this week’s meeting, the Clark Township residents returned to remonstrate and ask for the commission to return to the previous map. Many of the comments centered around a housing development and annexation into Greenwood that is not related to the TIF district and would not be stopped if the TIF district were to include the parcel that the development is proposed on.
Property rights were also debated and the county residents took issue with the idea that they don’t have a seat at the table when Greenwood annexes property into the city, as they don’t have a vote for city council. That’s another reason why they feel more comfortable with the county driving development.
However, the county redevelopment commission will not have the authority to stop housing developments or annexations into Greenwood by putting in place a TIF district, as the district only applies to commercial and industrial developments.
The TIF district also will not halt growth, as some of the residents hope. The goal is to actually facilitate growth and make it easier to attract commercial and industrial developments to the area by collecting money from future developments of that type within the district.
A major reason why the district map was edited was to eliminate the areas that are already ripe for development immediately east of Greenwood and Franklin city limits, said Brian Baird, commission member and county commissioner. Those areas already had been primed for development by Greenwood and Franklin officials.
Those areas would not stand up to the state’s “but for” test, which requires areas to be unsuitable for development in order to be included in a TIF district, Baird said. Without editing the map, there was a potential for a legal challenge based on the test, he said.
Though the TIF district will not stop development, it could momentarily halt it because the county does not currently have employees dedicated to economic development or utility service for the area. Even with the TIF district moving forward without the parcels directly east of Greenwood, county residents could still get some of what they want with this map, said Ron West, a member of the commission and a county commissioner.
“Maybe what we are proposing is a little late, but what we are proposing now and what we have already done on the west side of the county, in essence bring the county to the table like you are wanting,” West said. “That will help going forward.”
The TIF district will ideally to spur an increase in tax dollars that the county has been cut off from through annexations into cities and towns, said Rob Henderson, a commission and county council member.
“We see, from the county’s side, thousands of acres every year become annexed and the county loses potential for assessed value to support services that we must provide,” Henderson said. “We are putting out a flag, so to speak, to say that we want to be recognized for development and we want to be involved in it for the sake of additional tax dollars, revenue and increasing the assessed value base for the whole county, not just Greenwood and not just Franklin.”
With approval by the commission, the resolution is now forwarded to the Board of Commissioners for consideration at an upcoming meeting. All three commissioners are on the commission and voted yes for the resolution, so it is likely to pass without opposition.
Once the commissioners have taken their votes it will be kicked back to the redevelopment commission for final approval.
The commission is also required to issue a statement of the potential impact on taxing units with a stake in the parcels included within the district.
