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City officials reject county demands for more say on a Central Park taxing district, but accept compromises on other issues.
By JANET ZINK
Published June 16, 2006
TAMPA - City and county officials on opposite sides of the Central Park Village debate struck a conciliatory tone Thursday.
The City Council unanimously accepted most conditions the Hillsborough County Commission attached to its approval last week of a Central Park taxing district.
It did reject the most controversial condition - to allow two county commissioners more say over all taxing districts in the city.
But some city officials said they would be open to exploring the idea further after July 1, when a state law that might allow commissioners such oversight would go into effect.
"I look forward to working with the county on this particular issue," council member Kevin White said.
City attorney David Smith said he, too, would be willing to listen to the county's position on the matter.
"We don't have a problem with county participation. But we do have a problem with being asked to do something we're not able to do legally," he said. "We can look at this issue post-July 1."
Approval of the taxing district is the key to a larger redevelopment that aims to turn the crumbling Central Park Village public housing complex into a mixed-used, mixed-income development.
Commissioner Tom Scott last week brought up the idea of having two commissioners sit on the Community Redevelopment Agency that oversees the taxing districts. Currently, only City Council members serve on the agency. Scott did not address the City Council on Thursday.
But after the meeting he said he would present the city's actions to his fellow commissioners in the best possible light when the board reconsiders the Central Park taxing district for a vote Wednesday.
"At the end of the day, the City Council voted on the issue based on their legal counsel, who has thrust this into a legal quagmire," he said. "But I will do my best to see how we can extract a positive from it and see what our options are and move on. That does not mean that I have given up on this issue."
Bank of America has plans to redevelop Central Park Village, but the company says the 143-acre special taxing district is critical to its plan. City officials want the district approved by June 30 to capture the most property tax revenue.
Such districts, which are intended to revitalize blighted areas, require city and county approval because they funnel property tax dollars away from county coffers and into city neighborhoods for improvements.
The County Commission approved the Central Park district June 7 but attached to it Scott's conditions.
--Janet Zink can be reached at jzink@sptimes.com or 813 226-3401.
[Last modified June 16, 2006, 04:26:16]
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