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Council approves updated tax-abatement policy, designates reinvestment zone for Valencia Hotel
Summary
The Tyler City Council approved a revised tax-abatement policy and designated Reinvestment Zone No. 5 for the proposed Valencia Hotel, citing projected payroll and employment minimums and a consultant cost-benefit analysis.
The Tyler City Council on Sept. 10 approved an updated tax-abatement policy and designated Reinvestment Zone No. 5 to support a proposed Valencia Hotel on Broadway and East Ferguson. City staff recommended the actions and the council voted to adopt them during the meeting.
City staff said the revised policy is less prescriptive than earlier versions and provides the city more flexibility when considering future abatements. Heather (staff member) said the update was “just us dotting our I’s, crossing our T’s” and that the policy is duplicative of a county amendment adopted in June.
Heather told the council the reinvestment zone proposed for the Valencia Hotel is tied to specific economic thresholds used in tax-abatement agreements: a conservative employment floor of at least 60 employees and a $2,000,000 minimum annual payroll. She said the city’s consultant produced a cost-benefit analysis showing a positive return on investment and that the proposed zone would apply to a currently vacant, recently demolished parcel just north of the county courthouse at Broadway and East Ferguson.
With the designation, staff said other taxing entities have posted 30-day public notices and that the respective taxing entities are expected to consider associated agreements on Sept. 30. Heather summarized the city’s next steps and recommended approval.
Councilmember Haney moved to designate the reinvestment zone and adopt the associated resolution; Councilmember Curtis seconded. The council voted in favor and the motion carried.
The council also approved the updated tax-abatement policy earlier in the meeting. That motion (to approve the tax-abatement policy) was made and seconded on the record and carried by voice vote.
What the council approved was the policy language and the formal designation of the reinvestment zone; no specific tax-abatement agreement for Valencia Hotel was adopted on Sept. 10. Any future agreement between the city and the developer would be separate and subject to the usual interlocal and taxing-entity approvals.
More detailed legal terms, the final boundary description for Reinvestment Zone No. 5 and the timing for other taxing-entity approvals were provided in staff exhibits and on the meeting slide deck shown to the council.
