On April 25, 2000, Mayor and Council Communication (M&C G-12897) the City Council approved the Policy Statement on the creation of Local Neighborhood Empowerment Zone (NEZ) and amended it on December 7, 2010 (M&C G-17133) and May 16, 2017 (M&C G-19010), in accordance with Chapter 378 of the Texas Local Government Code. The City Council also authorized the City Manager to identify neighborhood areas that may be eligible for NEZ designation and to develop administrative procedures for the NEZ Program.
The NEZ Administrative Procedures were adopted by the City Council on October 3, 2000 (M&C G-13030) and amended on May 15, 2007, December 7, 2010 and May 16, 2017 to initiate improved program requirements. The procedures included two methods by which a NEZ may be designated:
1. City Council designation; or
2. A neighborhood sponsor application process.
On May 16, 2017, (Resolution No. 4782-05-2017, M&C G-19010) the City Council elected to be eligible to participate in tax abatements and has established guidelines and criteria governing Tax Abatement Agreements entered into by the City and various third parties, as authorized by and in accordance with Chapter 312 of the Texas Tax Code.
On March 27, 2007, (M&C G-15653) the City Council adopted Resolution No. 3468 to designate the Berryhill/Mason Heights area as a NEZ and adopted Ordinance No. 17460 which designated the area as Fort Worth Neighborhood Empowerment Reinvestment Zone (FWNERZ) No. 34. The Berryhill/Mason Heights NEZ and FWNERZ No. 34 expired on March 27, 2017.
The Berryhill/Mason Heights area will be re-designated as a NEZ by the City Council upon the adoption of the Resolution attached to this M&C. The area within the Berryhill/Mason Heights NEZ is also being re-designated as Fort Worth Neighborhood Empowerment Reinvestment Zone No. 34 (FWNERZ), pursuant to the Texas Property Redevelopment and Tax Abatement Act, Tax Code, Chapter 312 so that tax abatements may be granted within the designated area.
The main boundaries of the re-designated Berryhill/Mason Heights NEZ and the FWNERZ are:
• Cobb Park from (US Highway 287) Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway service road to Mitchell
Boulevard on the north;
• Mitchell Boulevard to Wilbarger to Foard Street on the west;
• Foard to Eastland to Vaughan to (US Highway 287) Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway service road
on the south; and
• (US Highway 287) Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway service road to Cobb Park on the east.
The re-designated Berryhill/Mason Heights NEZ and the FWNERZ have a population of 2,794 persons, is 0.92 miles in size and meets the following designation requirements under the City's NEZ policy: - Promotes the creation of quality affordable housing in the zone;
- Is 100 percent within the Central City and 100 percent of the proposed NEZ area is Community
Development Block Grant (CDBG) eligible; - Is considered distressed based on census data on population, socio-demographics and other
factors; and - Meets the criteria for Reinvestment Zone designation in that the area, is reasonably likely as a
result of the designation to contribute to the retention or expansion of primary employment or to
attract major investment in the zone that would be a benefit to the property and that would
contribute to the economic development of the City.
Staff recommends re-designating the Berryhill/Mason Heights NEZ and renewing the Reinvestment Zone designation to promote further development in the Berryhill/Mason Heights area. The public hearing notice was published in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on August 2, 2017.
The Berryhill/Mason Heights NEZ and the FWNERZ are located in COUNCIL DISTRICTS 5 and 8. This M&C does not request approval of a contract with a business entity. |
