Canton’s City Council on July 3 approved an updated intergovernmental agreement with Cherokee County to link county increment taxes to downtown redevelopment and voted to advance an IGA that frames design, funding and ownership for a proposed county annex and mixed‑use North Street project.

The council approved a modification to the tax allocation district (TAD) arrangement governing the downtown Etowah River Corridor; city staff said the county agreed to set its base year for increment calculations at December 2022. City staff described the TAD as allowing financing mechanisms tied to the tax increment and said the updated IGA permits financing over a multi‑year horizon (staff discussed 15–20 years as an illustrative range). Council voted to approve the TAD IGA with Cherokee County.

The council also approved a master plan IGA among the city, the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and Cherokee County that would guide design and development of a new county annex (presenters said the annex would be about 130,000 square feet), a parking deck of roughly 600 spaces funded principally by the county, and an expanded mixed‑use development bringing retail, office and residential space to North Street. Under the IGA the city and DDA would provide additional parking capacity (roughly 200 spaces) so the combined deck would total about 800 spaces. The IGA calls for a single civil engineer for the overall site and allows the DDA to recruit additional design and construction partners. The agreement authorizes exchange of property and contemplates county SPLOST proceeds to support the annex and parking deck.

Councilor comments during the discussion ranged from enthusiasm about controlling downtown design and addressing parking shortfalls to caution about the city owning and operating development components. One councilor asked how cost overruns would be allocated; staff said a pro‑rata approach (roughly 75% county/25% city for the deck, as discussed) would likely apply, with detailed responsibilities to be finalized during the design and financing stages.

The IGA passed on a council vote with one member recorded as opposed; the motion to approve the IGA included a contingency that the city’s approval be executed upon the county’s execution of both the IGA and the TAD documents. If the county approves the agreement the item will proceed through the county’s July calendar, staff said.

What’s next: staff will coordinate with the county and DDA to finalize engineering procurement and financing plans and will return materials for future council review as required by the IGA and project schedule.