Columbia City redevelopment commission postpones TIF declaratory resolution; counsel outlines process and risks

The Columbia City Redevelopment Commission postponed action on a declaratory resolution to create two tax-increment financing (TIF) areas and a related economic development target area (EDTA) after outside counsel said the materials needed for the county auditor and other reviewers were not ready.

Lisa Lee, an attorney with the law firm Ice Miller, told the commission during the April 8 meeting that staff and the developer still needed to provide parcel lists and maps that must accompany a declaratory resolution before it can be presented to the county auditor and other agencies. "We will have to be able to provide that to the county auditor, in order for the county auditor to make sure we're capturing the correct parcels," Lee said.

The commission delayed adoption with the intent to revisit the item in May. Lee said the declaratory resolution would include two separate project TIF areas — one labeled for single-family housing and the other for commercial/multifamily — and would set a base assessment date, statutory findings, a…