SUBJECT: An Ordinance to approve a Sixth Amendment to the Project Plan and Reinvestment Zone Financing Plan for Reinvestment Zone Number Two (Midtown Zone).
RECOMMENDATION: (Summary)
City Council adopt an ordinance to approve a Sixth Amendment to the Project Plan and Reinvestment Zone Financing Plan for Reinvestment Zone Number Two (Midtown Zone).
SPECIFIC EXPLANATION:
Reinvestment Zone Number Two, City of Houston, Texas (the “Zone”), was created by Ordinance No. 1994-1345 on December 14, 1994. City Council authorized the creation of the Midtown Redevelopment Authority by Resolution No. 1995-0096 on June 28, 1995, and approved a Project Plan and Reinvestment Zone Financing Plan (the “Plan”) for the Zone by Ordinance No. 1997-0600 on May 28, 1997. Subsequently, City Council approved the First Amendment to the Plan by Ordinance No. 1997-1338 on October 22, 1997, the Second Amendment to the Plan by Ordinance No. 1999-0850 on August 11, 1999, the Third Amendment to the Plan by Ordinance No. 2009-1395 on December 29, 2009, the Fourth Amendment to the Plan by Ordinance No. 2011-0534 on June 22, 2011, and the Fifth Amendment to the Plan by Ordinance No. 2013-0638 on July 10, 2013.
On February 26, 2015, the Board of Directors of the Zone approved a proposed Sixth Amendment to the Project Plan and Reinvestment Zone Financing Plan (the “Amended Plan”) and transmitted it for City Council approval. The Amended Plan provides for an expanded boundary that will add approximately 88.42 acres to the Zone’s current area; most of the area that will be annexed into the Zone relates to certain museum district entities that have requested inclusion into the Zone and have provided letters of support. The proposed expanded boundaries will enhance the Zone’s Economic Development through its Cultural and Tourism District as well as provide for utility and street and streetscape improvements along certain commercial corridors to enhance pedestrian access, mobility and connectivity.
The Amended Plan also contemplates an extension of the duration of the Zone to December 31, 2040 to allow the Zone to properly finance current and future improvements. The extension does not alter the City’s ability to terminate the Zone at the Zone’s termination date established in this Ordinance, the date all obligations have been met, or earlier if the City satisfies the outstanding debt and obligations, at which time revenue in excess of obligations returns to the City’s general fund.
Accordingly, the Administration recommends that City Council approve the Sixth Amendment to the Plan for the Zone.
cc: Marta Crinejo, Agenda Director
Anna Russell, City Secretary
Donna Edmundson, City Attorney
Gary Dzierlenga, Senior Assistant City Attorney