The City Council on Thursday approved the boundaries for the area that will qualify for tax incentives through the Missouri Downtown Economic Stimulus Act.

The boundaries include Wheeler Downtown Airport and Harlem, a secluded community between the airport, the river and North Kansas City. The rest of the downtown district is roughly bounded by the river on the north, State Line Road on the west, Linwood Boulevard on the south and Cleveland Avenue on the east.

A committee of the Greater Downtown Development Authority recommended in September that the downtown boundary be only south of the river. That prompted Councilwoman Bonnie Sue Cooper to propose extending the boundary to Vivion Road in Kansas City, North.

Cooper, whose 2nd District includes the Northland and part of downtown, said she proposed the boundary extension when the committee extended the boundary to Linwood Boulevard and Cleveland Avenue.

'When it went that far east and south, I thought they needed to look north as well,' Cooper said.

Gary Sage, senior vice president of the Economic Development Corp., which lobbied for the Missouri Downtown Economic Stimulus Act, said there were concerns that stretching the boundary that far north would undermine the intent of the law.

The Downtown Airport and Harlem, which both offer striking views of the downtown skyline and are situated on the river's north bank, were reasonable additions to the boundary, Sage said.

Harlem which is part of Kansas City, has a few single-family homes, a Baptist church and businesses and small industries. Access to the area is difficult because it can only be entered through Richards Road near the aiport or from North Burlington Road in North Kansas City. There also are several sets of train tracks.

'Harlem has great potential,' Cooper said. 'Its location is absolutely great. A commercial building there would have a great view of the river and skyline.'

Although Cooper wanted the boundary to go farther north, she said the boundary that the council agreed on was fine. She wants the council to consider providing different tax incentives to spur redevelopment efforts in two areas that are within the downtown boundary she was seeking -- North Oak Trafficway between North Kansas City and Vivion Road and the Missouri 9 corridor near U.S. 169.

Sage said the development agency would be supportive of those redevelopment efforts.

The Missouri Downtown Economic Stimulus Act was approved by the Missouri General Assembly last year and later signed by Gov. Bob Holden.

The act allows more than one-third of the additional state sales taxes and up to half the additional state income taxes generated by a new project to be used to finance public improvements.

It also allows city officials to apply directly to the Missouri Department of Economic Development rather than seek specific legislative approval for projects. By bypassing the legislative process, the city can react more quickly to development opportunities.