Council hears update on London Gateway TIFs; ratifies petition sufficiency for new community authority

London City Council held a public hearing on proposed tax-increment financing (TIF) legislation for the London Gateway development and on related formation paperwork for a new community authority, hearing a status update from the property owners' representatives and outside counsel.

The property owners' representative, Wes Smith, told council the residential TIF has received Madison County approval and that work is underway on the commercial TIF. Smith said the commercial TIF language will be revised so the London City School District is “made whole” if a multifamily use later appears in the commercial district and that a 20-acre parcel that had been inadvertently excluded will be added to the commercial TIF area. Smith said the owners have sent the revised draft to the city attorney for review and expect to return to the school district to finalize a compensation agreement.

Why it matters: The ordinances under discussion set up incentives and the tax increment fund mechanics that would reimburse infrastructure and require service payments in lieu of property tax; the school district’s fiscal exposure and the city’s property-transfer mechanics are prerequisites before the commercial TIF can proceed.

Council and outside counsel clarified process steps. Attorneys on the property owner team said one ordinance before council (an ordinance authorizing a temporary city acquisition and immediate reconveyance of property) must pass to enable the commercial TIF. Outside counsel described a separate sufficiency step required under state law before a full NCA formation ordinance can be considered.

Council acted on the petition sufficiency resolution. Council adopted Resolution 210-24, a ratification that the petition to establish the London Gateway New Community Authority is sufficient under the Ohio Revised Code and to set a hearing. The roll-call votes recorded at adoption were: Councilmember Stahl — Yes; Councilmember Trainer — Yes; Councilmember Eads — Yes; Councilmember Hayes — Yes; Councilmember Hick — Yes; Councilmember McDaniels — Yes.

Other ordinances that appeared for first or second reading — including Ordinance 207-24 (creating incentive districts and authorizing a TIF agreement with Tomcat LLC) and Ordinance 208-24 (temporary transfer of title to implement TIF) — remained on the agenda for future readings; council members said additional edits and continued negotiations with school-district counsel and city attorneys are needed before those measures can be voted on.

Council members and attorneys repeatedly emphasized this is a multi-step statutory process: a petition sufficiency step, a public hearing, and separate formation/creation legislation for the New Community Authority; council members also stressed that approval of property-transfer language by the city attorney is a condition for proceeding with the commercial TIF.

Votes at a glance: Resolution 210-24 (petition sufficiency for London Gateway NCA) — adopted (votes: Stahl, Trainer, Eads, Hayes, Hick, McDaniels: Yes). Several TIF-related ordinances (Ordinance 207-24, Ordinance 208-24, Ordinance 209-24) were read by title and left for further consideration at later readings.

Council took no final vote on any TIF ordinance during this meeting; instead, staff and counsel will return with revised language and compensation agreements for the school district as requested by council.

Ending: Property owners’ representatives said they will continue to work with the city attorney and the school district to resolve outstanding language and return to council for subsequent readings and votes.