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Belton approves Olive Garden plat, creates Peculiar Drive CID to fund site improvements up to $1 million
Summary
The Belton City Council approved final plats and readings to allow construction of an Olive Garden at I‑49 and 58 Highway and established the Peculiar Drive Community Improvement District, which will collect an extra 1% sales tax at the development to reimburse the developer for public improvements up to $1,000,000.
The Belton City Council voted to approve the final plat and related right‑of‑way vacation for the site at the southwest corner of Interstate 49 and 58 Highway and to establish the Peculiar Drive Community Improvement District (CID), which will collect an additional 1% sales tax on purchases at the development to reimburse the developer for public improvements.
City staff told the council the cooperative agreement behind the CID reimburses the developer for public sewer, water, stormwater and parking‑lot work and caps city reimbursement “up to no more than $1,000,000 over the life of the CID,” using sales tax collected from sales inside the development. "The petition in front of the council will establish a community improvement district over the property that will collect an additional 1% of sales tax from all future sales at the restaurants ... to reimburse the developer for those public improvements," staff said during the council presentation.
The council approved three related items that together clear the way for the Olive Garden site: (1) vacating rights of way and easements on a roughly 3.539‑acre parcel at the southwest corner of I‑49 and 58 Highway; (2) approving a two‑lot final plat for the Belton Olive Garden plat covering approximately 3.91 acres; and (3) establishing the Peculiar Drive CID and approving the cooperative agreement with the developer, identified in the agreement as Belton 58 Shopper LLC. Councilmembers voted in favor of the vacation and final plat by roll call; the CID ordinance passed on its second reading.
Staff said the property previously functioned as a commuter lot and that a fall 2024 blight determination was used to qualify the site for the incentive tools. The cooperative agreement, staff said, limits reimbursement to revenue generated inside the development and does not affect other city sales taxes such as public safety, EMS/fire, or capital improvement taxes. Staff also noted the agreement includes provisions allowing the city to withhold some or all reimbursement if the developer fails to complete required work or fails to develop the second pad site referenced in the agreement.
Sarah Granoff of Gilmore and Bell, the law firm that helped draft the cooperative agreement, was in the chamber and available to answer legal questions. A developer representative was also present at the meeting while staff requested, and the council granted, both readings for the vacation and plat to allow the developer to begin site work and building permit issuance.
Council members asked about timing for construction and staff said building and site permits for Lot 1 are reviewed and “pretty much ready to go,” with the developer estimating roughly a year to complete the site‑raise and building construction. Staff cautioned that the developer’s target opening is tied to the developer’s (and the tenant’s) internal fiscal timelines.
Votes and motions recorded in the meeting minutes: the final reading of the vacation ordinance (Bill 2025‑23) passed on roll call; the final reading of the Belton Olive Garden final plat ordinance (Bill 2025‑24) passed on roll call; and the second reading of the Peculiar Drive CID ordinance (Bill 2025‑25) passed. Each of the three motions carried with affirmative votes from the councilmembers present.
The council also imposed a condition on the final plat requiring any additional easements needed for public improvements to be approved and recorded prior to occupancy of Lot 1. Planning Commission review and unanimous recommendation of approval were cited by staff as having taken place at the commission’s meeting the night before.
Council action removes several regulatory obstacles and authorizes the cooperative financing mechanism; it does not itself construct the improvements. The development will proceed under the developer’s permits and the terms of the cooperative agreement; any future reimbursements will depend on the CID’s sales tax receipts and the agreement’s performance provisions.
