Kenton hears proposal to use Community Reinvestment Areas to encourage downtown and housing investment

KENTON, Ohio — At its April 22 meeting, Kenton City Council heard a detailed presentation on Ohio Community Reinvestment Areas, a state-authorized local tool that can grant tax exemptions to property owners who renovate or build within designated areas.

Holli Underwood of the Hardin County Chamber/Business Alliance told council, “They are a program, it's an economic development tool administered by municipal or county governments that provide real property tax exemptions for property owners who renovate or construct new buildings.” She outlined that the exemption applies only to the increased taxable value created by the improvement and that local governments may set different eligibility rules for residential, commercial, or industrial projects.

Why it matters: Council members and the mayor said the tool could make Kenton more competitive for investment, particularly downtown. Underwood recommended starting with a compact, well-documented district — for example the downtown Historic Courthouse District — rather than designating the whole city at once.

Underwood walked council through core program features: a housing survey documenting disinvestment in the target area, a resolution designating the CRA with a map filed to the Ohio Department of Development, creation of a housing officer and a tax incentive review council to process applications, and annual reporting on compliance. She said commercial and industrial abatements must be negotiated case-by-case; residential incentives can be automatic for qualifying projects under the municipality’s rules.

Council members asked operational questions. Robin Jones asked whether contractors must be licensed and insured; Underwood said the housing officer must verify code compliance and that projects in historic districts must meet additional design standards. David Beazley compared the CRA to the city’s existing enterprise zone programs and noted a CRA can include a residential component if council decides to allow it.

Underwood also called attention to school-district consent thresholds: projects that would exempt more than a set percentage of increased value (recent guidance discussed at the presentation cited 75%) may require school-board approval under state rules. Underwood advised that keeping the municipal threshold at or below that level can avoid the need for school-district consent on most deals.

Mayor Lynn Webb urged council to consider the proposal and move intentionally: “This makes us competitive with everybody else,” she said, noting recent interest from JobsOhio and ongoing work with Heritage Ohio to attract investment to historic buildings.

What’s next: Althauser suggested that, if the administration wants to pursue a CRA, staff bring a draft proposal to the Legislation committee for further study. Underwood provided links to the Ohio Revised Code and Department of Development resources and left slides and sample survey guidance for council review.

Authority cited: Ohio Revised Code provisions governing Community Reinvestment Areas were referenced during the presentation; Underwood recommended using the Department of Development’s housing-survey template as a starting point.

Closing: Council did not vote on any CRA action at the meeting; members requested additional review and potential committee consideration.