Laredo committee reviews vacant-building ordinance amendments, seeks incentives to spur downtown reuse

City of Laredo Economic Development Department staff and members of the Economic Development Advisory Committee spent the meeting reviewing the city—s vacant-building ordinance (adopted in 2021) and discussing changes to link enforcement with incentives aimed at downtown revitalization.

The committee heard that the Viva Laredo comprehensive plan calls for a vacant-building ordinance that requires owners to register empty structures, submit long-term reuse plans, bring buildings up to fire and safety codes, maintain facades and provide insurance coverage. "The Viva Laredo comprehensive plan was adopted. It's a vacant building ordinance should be created, enforced, and monitored, and it will require property owners to register their vacant buildings with the city and have them inspected by officials, create a long term plan for the building use, bring the buildings up to fire and safety codes, maintain the facade and exterior walls, and finally, provide insurance coverage for the buildings," said Miss Castillo, an economic development department staff member.

Why it matters: Committee members said the ordinance in its current form risks penalizing owners who are attempting to renovate or who face market constraints, rather than encouraging reuse. Julian Rodnovsky, a committee member, warned that downtown vacancy is substantially higher than healthy benchmarks and that enforcement without incentives could hinder redevelopment. "Anything under 15% is considered depressionary. So we're way over that," Rodnovsky said.

What was discussed: Staff described a near-term plan to meet with downtown stakeholders, including the business improvement district and Laredo Main Street, to refine fee structures, exemptions and possible "standard of care" provisions. Committee members urged that the ordinance be tied to incentives and code changes already recommended in the Viva Laredo plan and to Chapter 380 guidelines so owners can feasibly renovate and lease spaces. Miss Castillo said benchmarking with other cities and internal interdepartmental meetings are underway and that the department expects to present a more detailed draft amendment at the committee's next meeting in early July or at a special meeting if needed.

Committee members also discussed operational details gathered during outreach: staff sent over 600 letters to property addresses in the downtown boundary and reported roughly 200—to—300 properties in that mailing frame, with about 30 letters returned indicating interest and roughly four properties currently registered under the ordinance. Those figures, staff said, will inform outreach and any recommended exemptions or incentive packages.

Next steps and limitations: The committee did not vote on ordinance language at this meeting. Staff will meet with the business improvement district and other stakeholders next week, continue benchmarking with comparable cities, and return with a proposed amendment for committee review. Any final changes would be forwarded to city council for consideration. Miss Castillo said exemptions for active renovations and a clearer standard-of-care definition are among topics under review.

Ending: Committee members asked staff to prioritize connecting any enforcement elements to incentive tools (for example, facade programs and other downtown incentives discussed in the Viva Laredo plan) and to expand stakeholder outreach so building owners and downtown businesses can help shape amendments before council consideration.