The Ames City Council will discuss the city’s policy on tax abatements for voluntary annexation sites at its meeting Tuesday night.

The tax abatement allows property owners who are reluctant to come under city jurisdiction because of other costs associated with annexation, such as sewer installation, to pay less in taxes for the first five years they are part of the city, said Mayor Ted Tedesco.

In the first year, owners would be responsible for only 25 percent of assessed taxes on the land, then 40 percent, 55 percent, 70 percent and 85 percent in the subsequent four years.

In the sixth year, owners would pay the full tax assessed to the land.

Some in the community have raised concerns about such abatements in regards to development east of Interstate 35, where Tennessee-based developer James “Bucky” Wolford has optioned and applied for voluntary annexation of land on which he hopes to build a large-scale commercial development, including a shopping mall and strip mall.

So far, Wolford has not asked for the abatement. The council’s decision Tuesday could prevent Wolford or any other developer from asking for an abatement on land east of Interstate 35, Tedesco said.

According to the city’s Land Use Policy Plan, the abatement was originally intended for residential areas, as commercial and industrial areas should have development that produces funds to cover taxes.

City staff, who were asked by the council to review the abatement policy at a previous meeting, have recommended the abatement not be extended to property east of the interstate.

The Ames City Council will meet at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 515 Clark Ave.