Council to hear petition to add Madison Reserve land to London Gateway Community Authority; RFQ sought for TIF/NCA advisors

The London City Council discussed a developer-backed petition to add parcels — including land tied to the Madison Reserve project — to the London Gateway Community Authority and set a public hearing on the application.

A council member explained that a community authority (NCA) is a financing vehicle developers use to fund infrastructure (roads, sewers, sidewalks) by creating service payments in lieu of taxes. "It creates revenue stream to basically pay for the infrastructure that they're building right now," the council member said, describing why developers commonly use NCAs for large subdivisions.

Why it matters: Adding property to an NCA can change how infrastructure is paid for and can create long-term service-payment obligations on parcels as deed restrictions. The council's action to determine sufficiency triggers a public hearing process required by Chapter 349 of the Ohio Revised Code.

Councilors also discussed authorizing an RFQ for NCA and tax-increment financing (TIF) advisors. One council member said the NCA/TIF structure for the project will create many separate taxing-district considerations and that an outside advisor paid from TIF funds could help manage the administrative burden. "As soon as there's a $100,000 improvement made in the land, it starts that TIF," the council member said, noting the scale and sequencing of incremental TIF triggers.

Next steps: Council set a date for a public hearing on the application and authorized staff to advertise for qualifications for advisors to manage the NCA/TIF structures. Staff will return with RFQ language and a schedule for accepting proposals.