Lebanon council approves 27-year extension, adds parcel to Southdale Center Community Improvement District

Lebanon City Council on Monday approved an amended petition to extend the Southdale Center Community Improvement District for 27 years from the ordinance’s effective date and to add adjacent land currently occupied by an Ashley Furniture store to the district footprint.

The change, approved by roll call vote, directs the city clerk to notify the Missouri Department of Economic Development and would allow the CID to use additional sales-tax revenues to reimburse developer-advanced infrastructure and site work. The petitioner has estimated about $1,800,000 in additional work tied to the annexation and build-out of retail space.

Rob Preston, an attorney with the law firm Spencer Fane representing the developer, described the district to the council as “a special taxing district authorized by the State of Missouri” funded through a 1% sales tax on retail sales inside the district footprint. Preston told the council the original petition covered roughly a $3,000,000 outlay, about $1,000,000 of those costs were certified, and roughly $600,000 has been reimbursed to date.

Curtis Jared, the developer on the Zoom call, said recent market changes — including a bankruptcy sale and follow-up interest from other retailers — prompted the request to annex roughly 2 acres adjacent to Ashley Furniture and to seek the extension so the CID could support new infrastructure, site grading and parking repairs. “We had a lot of different retailers reach out with backup offers…we couldn't do anything until we got through the bankruptcy proceedings,” Jared said.

Preston and Jared told council members the petition asks for the statutory maximum extension (27 years) but that the CID would dissolve earlier if reimbursable costs are paid off. Using figures from the petition’s revenue projection, petitioners said the district is likely to fully reimburse advanced costs around 2042; under state law the petition could extend the district as far as 2052 if revenues fall short of those projections.

Council members asked for historical collection and reimbursement numbers during the hearing; Preston said he did not have complete, audited historical figures in the meeting but offered to provide them to council. Preston said current annual sales-tax receipts collected by the district are roughly $40,000 per year and that annexing the Ashley Furniture parcel and completing planned work could approximately double the district’s taxable base.

The ordinance approved by the council reads that it “extends the term of the district for 27 years from the effective date of this ordinance, adds additional land to the district, and directs the city clerk to notify the Missouri Department of Economic Development of the Amendments.” The council approved the ordinance on a roll-call vote; the ordinance number and effective date were read into the record during the meeting.

Next steps: the city clerk will notify the Missouri Department of Economic Development as directed in the ordinance. The CID, petitioners reiterated, will dissolve automatically under state law once all approved reimbursable costs are paid by the district and there is no city action required to dissolve the district at that time.

The council’s approval authorizes the amended petition; petitioners said they will return information on historical collections and certified costs if council members request further detail.