October 8th, 2024, Uvalde City Council Meeting at 6PM at City Hall: A link to the live stream can be found prior to the meeting on the City of Uvalde’s Facebook Page,
by Michael Robinson | Uvalde Hesperian
10/08/24
At tonight’s October 8th,2024 City of Uvalde City Council meeting, a public hearing will be held on the designation and creation of a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ).
What is a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone?
What Are Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones (TIRZs)?
“Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones (TIRZs) are special zones created by City Council to attract new investment in an area. These zones help finance costs of redevelopment and promote growth in areas that would otherwise not attract sufficient market development in a timely manner. Taxes attributable to new improvements (tax increments) are set-aside in a fund to finance public improvements within the boundaries of the zone.”
The Uvalde Hesperian learned from unofficial sources that City Officials had meet previously with an individual who is interested in starting a new real estate development within the Uvalde City Limits and the request for a creation of a new Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ).
If approved, the new TIRZ could mean the property now outside of the Uvalde City Limits might be annexed into the City Limits.
Criteria for a TIRZ
• To create a TIRZ, the city or county must determine that investment in the area “would
not occur solely through private investment in the reasonably foreseeable future.”
§ 311.003(a)
• The land in a TIRZ must also “substantially arrest or impair the sound growth of the
municipality or county designating the zone” as result of several factors listed in the
statute, such as deteriorating buildings or faulty street layout. These are known as the
“blight” criteria. § 311.005
o Given the subjective nature of the “blight” criteria, these factors are relatively
easy to meet. One example of a “blighted” area is the North Fort Worth Cabela’s
development, where the blight criteria was a stream on the property.
• For petition-TIRZs (initiated by property owners), no blight criteria apply. § 311.005(a)(4