The president of a Rapid City real-estate corporation is objecting to one of his properties being included within the boundaries of another company's tax increment financing district, saying it could limit his ability to use a TIF for his own future development plans.

Paul Evans of McMahon Investments wants the city to remove 160 acres of McMahon property east of Haines Avenue and south of Country Road from a proposed TIF district for the Brookfield residential subdivision.

Evans says the proposed improvements associated with the Brookfield TIF, primarily drainage improvements and water/sewer line upgrades, will not benefit his property, which lies about a half-mile south.

Evans said including his property in the Brookfield TIF will hinder the development of his property in the future if he wants to apply for his own TIF. He also said property owners within a proposed TIF district should receive notification.

"As a land owner, I don't think anyone has the right to involve my property in anything without my knowledge and approval," Evans wrote in a letter to city planners.

According to growth management director Marcia Elkins, neither state law nor current city TIF policy requires all property within the district to directly benefit from improvements - or notification of property owners.

Elkins agreed that Evans has a point about overlapping TIFs because the underlying TIF must pay off before the second TIF can receive any revenue to pay project costs in the second TIF.

The city also has no policy that covers removing a property from a TIF district.

"In the past, it's just been worked out between the applicant for the project and the property owner," Elkins said. "One of the things the policy committee will look at is whether or not property owners should be notified. But they've not gotten to that issue yet."

The Brookfield TIF, if approved, is expected to pay off in nine years. Evans isn't sure if he will develop his 160 acres before then, but he doesn't want the property tied up in a TIF when he is ready to develop.

"If I've got 160 acres of my property taken out, that's going to limit my ability to do anything. It's definitely going to lower the desirability of my property if part of this is in somebody else's TIF," he said.

It's not a certainty that the Brookfield TIF will be approved. City council members have a number of questions about the cost of the proposed improvements and whether the costs should be borne by the city or the developer.

The TIF committee reviewed the proposal Friday and recommended approval - with the current boundaries unchanged. The issue will likely go to the city council in April.

After meeting Friday with representatives of the Brookfield development, Evans said he plans to talk with others in his company about potential benefits to the McMahon property, but he is still skeptical.

He isn't sure what his next step would be if the property is not removed from the Brookfield TIF. He said he prefers not getting attorneys involved.

"It would be easier to try to get things done the easy way, because getting a lawyer involved is not a fun deal," Evans said. "I'd like to get this thing resolved without having to get ugly about it."

Contact Scott Aust at 394-8415 or scott.aust@rapidcityjournal.com.