Council advances redevelopment agreement for downtown Sheran Road properties; one member recuses

The Highwood City Council voted to approve an ordinance authorizing a redevelopment agreement between the City of Highwood, Highwood Development Partners Corporation and Z HH LLC for properties at 412, 416, 420, 424 and 430 Sheran Road in the downtown TIF area.

Before the vote, a councilmember asked to treat the motion as a first reading; councilors agreed and proceeded. During discussion one speaker stated the current project will not include an affordable housing component because the redevelopment is funded with tax-increment-financing (TIF) that the speaker said "is maxed out," preventing additional subsidy for affordable units. At one point a councilmember stated, "I recuse myself from discussion and I abstain from voting," and did not participate in the roll call.

The roll call recorded the following responses: Bower (No), Nolski (Yes), Fiori (Yes), Peterson (Yes), Marutes (Yes) and Mayor Picaro (Yes). The motion passed. Council referenced a presession presentation on the project and noted it has been in discussion for some time.

The council did not provide further financial detail in the public portion of the meeting; the transcript indicates the absence of TIF capacity as the reason no affordable units are included on this set of parcels.