EDINBURGH GAVE UP TOO MUCH IN MALL DEAL (1-2004)

Late in 1987 a Michigan company, the Horizon Group, 
approached the Edinburgh Town Council with plans to build a 
large outlet mall south of town, in the northeast quadrant 
of the I-65 interchange at Exit 76. 
 
The developers needed for Edinburgh to supply the mall with 
utilities, which meant that Edinburgh would have to annex 
the land. Since it was in the town’s best interest for the 
developers to locate a large mall in town, the town council 
drew up plans to annex the land south of County Road 900N 
in Bartholomew County. 
 
Although, presumably, the annexation ordinance was drawn 
within the bounds of Indiana law, several property owners 
in the area objected, fearing higher tax rates. They formed 
a coalition and filed a remonstrance against the proposed 
ordinance, effectively halting plans for construction of 
the mall. 
 
The legal squabble over annexation dragged on for more than 
a year. The developers were starting to get impatient, 
threatening to cancel their plans to build an outlet mall 
in Edinburgh. But the City of Columbus had also come out 
against annexation by Edinburgh, so the court battle over 
annexation wasn’t anywhere close to resolution.  
 
So in January of 1989 all the parties involved, Edinburgh, 
Columbus, Bartholomew County, and the remonstrators, got 
together to hash out a compromise. The compromise finally 
reached was called the Interlocal Agreement, but it needed 
Statehouse approval before it could become effective. 
 
Following passage of legislation that permitted the inter-
community cooperation, the Edinburgh Town Council passed 
the enabling ordinance in June of 1989, and the developers 
got their green light to build the mall. 
 
Unfortunately, though the move to settle the remonstrance 
with an interlocal agreement was a good strategy, allowing 
the mall to be built, the details of the agreement were not 
altogether in Edinburgh’s favor. 
 
Edinburgh was allowed to supply utilities to any 
development in the area. It also had to provide police and 
ambulance services. In return, the Town of Edinburgh would 
receive only half the county property taxes collected in 
the joint district. It could not levy municipal taxes. 
 
In addition, Edinburgh gave up its right to implement a 
two-mile zoning jurisdiction south of its current town 
boundary. Instead, the Joint District Planning Commission 
would take care of all zoning activity. The Joint District 
Planning Commission, however, was composed mostly of 
representatives from Columbus and Bartholomew County, 
meaning that Edinburgh had a minority vote in zoning 
matters, even though it was the entity responsible for 
providing municipal services. 
 
This week, the term of the Interlocal Agreement will 
expire. The agreement was for a term of at least 15 years. 
But it also calls for the area to be at least 90 percent 
developed, otherwise the agreement must continue in force. 
 
I don’t know who the attorney was that agreed to the 90-
percent-development clause, but that was quite a gift to 
Columbus and Bartholomew County. The area is nowhere close 
to being 90 percent developed, even after 15 years. So 
Edinburgh can do nothing but wait. It is still prohibited 
from annexing the outlet center and the developed area that 
surrounds it. 
 
That is unfortunate for the town, because annexation would 
more than double the revenue Edinburgh now gets from 
property taxes in the joint district. According to Jackie 
Smith, clerk-treasurer of Edinburgh, the town received 
about 118,000 dollars in revenue from the area last year.  
 
But if Edinburgh had been able to annex the land, it would 
have received more like 287,000 dollars. That’s because it 
would be receiving 100 percent of the taxes computed on 
Edinburgh’s municipal tax rate, instead of 50 percent of 
the taxes computed on the German Township rate. 
 
I am not sure if the Edinburgh Town Council can or should 
seek to change the interlocal agreement at this point. But 
the difference in revenue is fairly substantial. Looking 
back over the 15 years the agreement has been in effect, 
development has been steady but slow. Many businesses 
complain that Bartholomew County is difficult to please 
when it comes to zoning considerations. They would much 
rather deal directly with Edinburgh. 
 
But that’s not possible in the joint district. So it may be 
many more years before the requisite 90 percent of the 
district is developed. In that time, Columbus and 
Bartholomew County will be repeating the benefits of 
Edinburgh’s hastiness 15 years ago. 
 
The good news is, at least the mall was built, and has 
become a huge asset to Edinburgh’s image and its economy.