Indian Hills sues to stop redevelopment expansion

The Indian Hills General Improvement District trustees sued Douglas County in District Court to stop expansion of the north county redevelopment district.

In addition to the county, the lawsuit names the board of commissioners and the redevelopment agency.

Indian Hills officials are considering cityhood and redevelopment could thwart those efforts and deny residents the right to choose their own government, according to court documents.

Douglas County officials "have acted with an improper purpose: to impede the potential formation of a new city at the north end of the valley, and to develop new commercial areas for the speculative sales tax revenue," Indian Hills attorneys Scott Brooke and Cassandra Jones charged in the lawsuit.

Douglas commissioners approved the addition of 610 acres to the redevelopment district Feb. 3. The property officially becomes part of Douglas County's redevelopment district today. The lawsuit was filed Monday.

The lawsuit charges county officials abused their discretion by approving redevelopment without enough evidence.

For example, 75 percent of the land under consideration for redevelopment must be improved under state law, a requirement Douglas County officials have not met.

Sunridge Golf Course accounts for 366 acres (55.1 percent) of the redevelopment area and a large portion of the improved area, but is used for recreational purposes and zoned for agriculture.

"Even if one makes the assumption that Sunridge qualifies as developed property, a majority of the golf course land is still not served by public sewer, water systems or roads, and therefore does not meet the definition of 'improved land,'" court documents say.

An independent consultant's report shows the proposed redevelopment could impede any potential cityhood project by diverting property tax revenues to repay redevelopment debt, the lawsuit charges.

With this redevelopment project, county officials say they could provide the needed infrastructure to make the project economically feasible.

"AIG Baker, the assumed commercial developer, has not even submitted a completed building permit application," the lawsuit argues. "There is no assurance of any developer, any sales, or any increase in tax revenue."

When fully developed, the commercial area could bring roughly $750,000 to Douglas County coffers. The Douglas County general fund would receive $280,000 and another $250,000 would be funneled into a special account for the parks, airport, library and seniors. Another $220,000 will come back to other taxing agencies, like towns, improvement districts and fire districts, said Douglas County Manager Dan Holler.

n Contact reporter Susie Vasquez at svasquez@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 211.