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Rowlett updates economic incentive policy to streamline abatements, adds grease-trap and façade grants
Summary
The Rowlett City Council on Feb. 4, 2025 approved revisions to the city's Economic Development Incentive Policy, removing a prescriptive tax-abatement schedule, adding a grease-trap rebate and a downtown façade grant, and clarifying application timing and recapture provisions.
On Feb. 4, 2025, the Rowlett City Council approved revisions to the City of Rowlett Economic Development Incentive Policy that remove a prescriptive tax-abatement schedule, set a minimum capital investment threshold for abatements, add a grease-trap rebate, and create a downtown core façade grant.
Brittany Farr, director of economic and community engagement, told the council the policy had last been revised in November 2015 and that staff compared Rowlett’s policy with peer cities to propose updates. Major changes include replacing a detailed, dollar-based abatement schedule with a more flexible approach that requires a minimum capital investment of $1,000,000 and allows abatements not to exceed 10 years at City Council discretion. Farr said applicants must submit abatement or fee-waiver requests before construction begins and that recapture provisions would apply case by case.
The revisions also separate the grease-trap rebate from the destination retail/restaurant criteria and make it an independent, matching rebate of up to $7,500 per project with a 50% match, to encourage businesses to replace or install grease traps (including moving them outside a building footprint when required). The new Downtown Core Façade Grant is a matching grant of up to $5,000 (50% match) for businesses in the downtown core as defined by the city’s downtown strategic plan.
Councilmembers asked about maximum incentive amounts, recapture provisions, and the rationale for leaving percentage and term decisions to council discretion. Farr responded that the change aligns Rowlett with Texas Comptroller guidelines and peer-city practice; she said the packet contains both the 2015 version and the proposed draft for reference.
Councilmember Reeves and others praised the clarifications and the upfront approach to negotiating incentives before construction. The motion to approve the revisions carried 6–0.
The adopted policy now gives the council more discretion on abatement percentages and term lengths while adding targeted, smaller-scale grants intended to spur downtown redevelopment and environmental compliance from food-service businesses.
