The city of Merriam is looking to possible expand the types of public incentives it can offer developers.
On Monday, the Merriam City Council discussed a new policy that would allow the city to consider applications for community improvement districts, or CIDs.
This comes roughly a year after Kansas City-based real estate company R.H. Johnson Company requested a CID to refurbish Merriam Town Center, a shopping center near Antioch Road and Johnson Drive currently anchored by a Cinemark theaters and a Home Depot.
Still, City Administrator Chris Engel told the city council on Monday that the policy is not being considered as a direct response to that request.
A community improvement district is a type of public incentive (employed frequently by other Johnson County cities) that imposes an additional sales tax within a designated project area. The revenue raised by that sale tax goes toward helping the developer finance the project, according to state statute.
A look at the new proposed policy
There are no community improvement districts currently in Merriam.
The proposed policy outlines criteria to help the city council consider future potential CID applications, as well as the application process itself.
Under the new policy, developers interested in establishing a community improvement district would need to submit a request through a petition, earning signatures from impacted property owners.
A development committee, established by the new policy, would then review the requests for community improvement districts prior to city council consideration.
Any requests that move forward to the city council would be evaluated against several criteria.
The following are examples of such criteria, as outlined in city documents:
- A CID request must benefit multiple businesses rather than a single business
- The project must include infrastructure upgrades like parks, transit stops or utility undergrounding
- The project(s) is in an identified area in need of economic development
- A CID application supports a reinvestment in the Merriam community through redevelopment of commercial sites
In addition, the city council may consider whether an applicant has received other incentives from the city before granting a CID.
City officials would also check to see if a proposed CID application conforms to the city’s comprehensive plan or may create negative impacts on current businesses in the city.
The city may also give special consideration to an application for a project that includes a grocery store — there are currently no grocery stores in Merriam — or provides other personal care necessities in Merriam.
The city council asks to include two more items
- The city council took no action on Monday but did generally express support for the new policy.
- Councilmember Reuben Cozmyer, who was appointed to fill a city council vacancy last month, asked if the city can include language that requires a developer to be current on property taxes owed to Merriam.
- Cozmyer was alluding to Block and Co.’s delinquent property taxes on the old Kmart site (now Merriam Grand Station) that resulted in tax incentives being held up for the redevelopment across the street of the former Taco Bell into a Chipotle.
- Councilmember Jason Silvers asked if the city can also require developers to inform shoppers about the additional sales tax before the point of sale.
Next steps:
- Engel said city staff will make the requested edits and bring the policy back to the city council for final consideration.
- City council meetings are on the second and fourth Mondays of each month.
- The meetings start at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 9001 W. 62nd St.
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