Fulshear EDC approves economic incentive policy with $1,500 application fee; bylaws revisions delayed

The City of Fulshear Development Corporation on March 24 approved an economic incentive policy that sets a $1,500 application fee for large commercial incentive requests and directs staff to use standardized criteria for evaluating major development proposals.

The policy was adopted by motion of the A board and passed during the meeting; members said the fee is intended to cover legal review and project-specific data collection and to discourage repeatedly bringing projects that do not meet minimum criteria. The policy applies to economic-development incentive requests for commercial projects and is not intended for small-business facade or microgrants, staff said.

The policy matters because it creates a single, citywide framework for incentives that the EDC and city leaders can use when developers request financial support. City staff said the EDC’s A and B boards previously worked on similar language and that the city attorney reviewed the draft before it was presented to the board.

Board discussion and staff comments Staff described the $1,500 fee as a midpoint of fees the board surveyed (ranging from about $100 to…