Two growing Hamilton County communities looking to build their commercial tax base are taking steps to ensure land targeted for development doesn’t end up in the hands of organizations that don’t pay taxes.
Fishers’ Town Council last month passed an ordinance prohibiting “institutional” uses on property along Interstate 69 from 96th Street to 126th Street, a decision that forced Noblesville-based Grace Community Church to give up on plans to add a campus a stone’s throw from the highway.
“We have spent a lot of money to essentially turn bean and cornfields into developable commercial property,” said city attorney Mike Howard, and tax revenue from those sites is used to pay off the resulting debt.
But if the land is snapped up by churches and other tax-exempt organizations, someone else has to pick up the tab.
As post-recession development gains momentum and municipalities get used to the realities of Indiana’s new property-tax caps, officials are looking for ways to avoid leaving money on the table.
The idea of collecting fees from tax-exempt entities isn’t new, but such arrangements typically are proposed on a case-by-case basis for major projects, such as the Indiana University Health Hospital in Carmel. Noblesville is the first city in the area to formalize its policy.
Noblesville and Fishers may have different approaches, but their objectives are the same: to ensure the long-term financial health of their communities.
...
See the full article here:
http://www.ibj.com/fishers-noblesville-put-cuffs-on-charities-to-recoup-property-tax-revenue/PARAMS/article/41803
