(A) Any present or potential owner of taxable property in the city may request the creation of a reinvestment zone and tax abatement by filing a written application with the city. The application shall be submitted to the Mayor or City Administrator and shall then be forwarded to the City Council for final disposition.
(B) The application shall consist of a completed application form which shall provide detailed information on the items described above; a map and property description; and a time schedule for undertaking and completing the planned improvements. In the case of modernization, a statement of the assessed value of the facility, separately stated for real and personal property, shall be given for the tax year immediately preceding the application. The application form may require such financial and other information as may be deemed appropriate for evaluating the financial capacity and other factors of the applicant.
(C) (1) The city shall give notice as provided by the Texas Property Tax Code, i.e.:
(a) Written notice to the presiding officer of the governing body of each taxing unit in which the property to be subject to the agreement is located no later than the seventh day before the public hearing; and
(b) Publication in a newspaper of general circulation within such taxing jurisdiction no later than the seventh day before the public hearing.
(2) Before acting upon the application, the city shall, through public hearing, afford the applicant and the designated representative of any governing body referenced herein to show cause why the abatement should or should not be granted.
(D) The city, no more than 60 days after receipt of the application, shall by vote of the Council either approve or disapprove the application for tax abatement. The city shall notify the applicant of approval or disapproval.
(E) The city shall not establish a reinvestment zone for the purpose of abatement if it finds that the request for the abatement was filed after the commencement of construction, alteration, modernization, expansion or new facility.
(2012 Code, § 80-38) (Ord. 071602, passed - -2007)