May hearing set for planned district authority
Cornerstone may charge landowners fee, have oversight of activities.
A planned Cornerstone CENTERVILLE — of Centerville district with authority to charge landowners an annual fee and have oversight of activities will be the focus of a public hearing next month.
Those favoring or opposing the issue the proposed 88-acre Cornerstone of Centerville Community Development Authority will have a chance to make comments on it May 17, when the issue is set to be voted on.
The authority would charge district landowners $750 per acre each year. It would also provide maintenance and encompass more than half of the property — including residential units — at the 156-acre mixed-use complex off Wilmington Pike near Interstate 675, city records show.
Centerville City Council on Monday night set the hearing after considering a petition signed by several property owners and filed last week by Cornerstone developer Oberer.
The city owns a nearly 20-acre park in what would be part of the district.
Approval would effectively create a “quasi-government organization that will allow the property owners of the district,” Centerville Development Director Michael Norton-Smith said.
The authority would “collect a community development fee to help with the operations — specifically of the park — but they could go to more general maintenance-type operations for the coverage area of the NCA,” he added.
A resolution to help establish the community authority was approved by city council in February. The issue has been talked about for years and was part of the Cornerstone of Centerville development agreement, city officials said.
“We have been discussing this for quite a while,” Mayor Brooks Compton said. “This is not our first bite at the apple on this thing … I think we’re all glad to see it moving forward.”
The city’s park would be part of the district, but not subject to the community development charge, records show. The fees would generate about $50,000 annually throughout the district, according to the city.
If approved on May 17, the authority will become effective June 16, according to city records.
The district would include several restaurants and other businesses, including Corelife Eatery, First Watch, Firehouse Subs, Cooper’s Hawk, and Home2Suites by Hilton, records show.
It would also involve about 380 residential units, including Cornerstone Apartments, Dogwood Commons and 37 single-family attached units proposed by Oberer, Norton-Smith has said.
It would not include large retailers Cabela’s, Costco and Kroger, documents show.
The authority would be governed by a seven-member board of trustees consisting of “three citizens appointed by city council, three appointed by the developers, and one member appointed by council to serve as a representative of local government,” records show.
The annual charges “can be spent on expenses related to the construction, maintenance, and programming of Cornerstone Park” owned by the city, as well as “debt service for financing” as determined by the board, according to Centerville records.