A settlement has been reached in long-running court battles over a $9 million tax deal given for a private developer to build a road up Aetna Mountain, officials said Tuesday.
The agreement, if court approved, is expected to end the legal action between Chattanooga tax activist Helen Burns Sharp and the city, its Industrial Development Board and developers.
The city agreed to pay Sharp $22,500 to settle the suits she brought in connection with tax-incremental financing (TIF) approved for the Black Creek Mountain development project. She had alleged the funding was based on violations of the state's open meetings law and conflicts of interest in the case.
Helen Burns SharpSharp said she feels "positive about the outcome. I believe I made a difference in that the city does now have policies and procedures for future TIFs."
City Attorney Wade Hinton said the city is focused on moving forward.
Sharp, a retired city planner, sued the city's IDB over the TIF financing for the road up Aetna Mountain as part of the development. Sharp alleged that the IDB engaged in a series of secret and illegal decisions.
Sharp's lawsuits had claimed the IDB met secretly in 2012 and again in 2014 - after Sharp won her first lawsuit - before the panel approved and then reapproved the Black Creek TIF. The first lawsuit is now in appeals court.
But developer Doug Stein said Tuesday he's hopeful the lawsuits are behind the project.
"I'm glad it's settled," he said.
Stein said about $980,000 of the TIF money has been spent. He said the TIF money comes from bond purchasers. The rest of the $9 million has been authorized, but the bonds still have to be sold, Stein said.
He said that part of the road to go up the mountain has been built, and some of the land in the TIF area has been developed.
"Very little money has been spent on road infrastructure," he said. "Most of it was spent on engineering and some lawyers."
The settlement agreement also calls for Sharp to never file or support any lawsuit arising from the Black Creek TIF. The parties also agreed to a "mutual non-disparagement" clause regarding one another and the Black Creek project.
Earlier this year, the City Council passed new TIF rules.
Generally, TIF agreements allow the city and county to build infrastructure - or even partially fund developments - in advance and then get reimbursed by the extra property tax collections for developments over time.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.