RE 08-31-89.1 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF COPPELL, TEXAS
R E,.,~LUTION NO. 083189.1
THE CITY OF COPPELL, TEXAS, ESTABLISHING A NEW TAX
ABATEMENT POLICY AND GUIDELINES AN~ CRITERIA GOVERNING
TAX OBJECTIVES BY THE CITY; STATING ~E GENERAL PURPOSE
PROCEDURAL GUIDEL~ES~ APPLICATION FOR TAX ABATEMENT; AND
PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
'enhancement of the ~1 eeo~my is in t~' ~st inteeest of the
.1; and
the esta~nsnme~ economic aevelo~;nt in'ives suen as tax
, encourage ennan~'~g,~he local e~'0my;
~ the Goveen~g.~f the City of Co ~sires to elect to become
participate in t~ Sment and to ~d adopt Guidelines and
g tax reements;
R~OLVED CODICIL OF TH~ CITY
That the.~ of Coppel], Texas, ~e~eby~eleets to become elegible to participate
tax abate~l 'as~author~zed by the P~rty Redevelopment and Tax Abatement Act
of the Stag-o[~ T~as.
~ t~' CITY OF COPP~, T~AS GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA FOR TAX
~TE~AGREEMENTS attae~ h~to as Exhibit "A", be, and the same is hereby
;hdop~established as the Guid~g~es and Criteria for T~ Abatement Agreements
for~~ City of Coppell, Texas.
Section 3.
The pol ey here~8 ~ted,~all, at the discretion of the Cxty Council, be reviewed
annually or from time ~ tim~' as needed. Said policy is intended as a guide for use
in developing t~ ~eni programs and agreements under the provisions of the
Property Redevelop~t _,~d Tax Abatement Act of the State of Texas, and
notwithst~,the p~i~ herein established, the City Couneil of the City of Coppell
retains ~e rig~ to aqt within the provisions of such act without the necessity of
amendi~ the ~&e~p61iey herein adopted.
~ ~:~ Section 4.
An application fee in the sum of $1,500.00 shall ~ paid by any applicant at the
time of filing the "Application for T~ Abatement" provided for under the ~liey herein
adopted.
Section 5.
Any resolution in conflict with this resolution is hereby repealed. City of Coppell
Resolution No. 041189.3 is hereby specifically repealed.
Seetion 6.
This resolution shall become effective immediately upon its passage as the law
in such cases provides.
DULY RF. SOI,¥ED AND ADOPTI{.D by vote of at least three-fourths of the members
of the City Council of the City of Coppell, Texas, on the 31st day of August, 1989,
t~' members of the Governing Body voting in favor of the resolution, ~) members
voting against the resolution, and _ ~ member._ absent and not voting.
Mayor / v --
ATTEST:
City Secret~ ~)
^Pp v .v ^s To
Cit~ Att~r~ney ~-'
CR89-0831
CITY OF COPPELLt TEXAS
GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA FOR
TAX ABATEMENT AGREEMENTS
Tax abatement will reduce needed tax revenue unless the tax
incentives offered by the tax abatement agreement are strictly
limited in application to a reinvestment zone that provides for
new and existing industries to bring new tax basis property into
the city of Coppell. The City must compete with other localities
across the nation offering tax inducements in order to attract
new investment capital, modernization and new employees and
families to the community. New employees and families will
benefit the City's economy and will provide additional
opportunities and market growth for the generation of additional
tax revenue to support local services.
Texas Law provides that the City of Coppell, Texas can
provide tax incentives through tax abatement agreements with
owners of real property subject to taxation within the City's
jurisdiction. The following Guidelines and Criteria are intended
to comply with Texas law and to be binding upon the City of
Coppell, Texas after they have been adopted and shall apply to
all tax abatement agreements hereafter entered into by the City
for a period of two years from the date adopted unless amended or
modified by a vote of three-fourths of the members of the City
Council of the City. The City shall not enter into any tax
EXHIBIT A
abatement agreement unless it finds that the Guidelines and
Criteria set forth below are met by the agreement.
The Guidelines and Criteria are as follows:
1. The city Council by ordinance may designate as a
reinvestment zone any real property that will be 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 reinvestment zone that would be a benefit to
the property and that would contribute to the economic
development of the City of Coppell, Texas.
2. The City of Coppell, Texas is not under any obligation to
provide any tax abatement or any other incentive to any applicant
except as considered on a case-by-case basis of an application
for a project which meets these Guidelines and Criteria. These
Guidelines and Criteria shall be circulated to all taxing
jurisdictions within the City of Coppell, Texas for consideration
by them as a common policy for all reinvestment zones designated
by the City of Coppell, Texas.
3. All requests by application for tax abatement under these
Guidelines and Criteria shall be reviewed by the City Council
whose determination and approval or disapproval shall be based
upon all relevant information presented by the applicant as well
as information derived from public hearings to be held in
accordance with Texas law.
4. The City shall from time to time adopt application forms to
be completed in conjunction with the approval process and all
applications are not required to be identical in their content
but shall fit the appropriate circumstances applicable to that
particular reinvestment zone. As a condition to approval an
applicant may be required to respond to all questions presented
by the City relating to the application, the reinvestment zone
and the abatement agreement to be entered into between the
parties.
5. A reinvestment zone shall be eligible for tax abatement if
the real property is to be used for manufacturing facilities,
research facilities, educational purposes, distribution centers
or regional service centers, regional entertainment facilities or
other commercial purposes but not for residential purposes.
6. Abatement shall be extended only to the land and not to any
improvements but nothing herein contained shall prevent or imply
that the City of Coppell cannot enter into another tax abatement
program relating to improvements and facilities.
7. Any abatement authorized hereunder shall be granted
effective with the January 1 evaluation date immediately
preceding or following the effective date of the abatement as
determined by the terms of the agreement.
8. Abatement shall mean the full or partial exemption from ad
valorem taxes of the real property in a reinvestment zone
designated by the City. The abatement shall be limited to the
taxation relating to all or a part of the increase in value of
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the property over its value in the year in which the abatement
becomes effective for any period not in excess of fifteen years,
subject to the rights of holders of outstanding bonds of the
City. The base year value for purposes of the abatement shall
mean its currently assessed value and if the property is
currently assessed at agricultural values, that shall be its base
year value. The particular tax abatement agreement shall define
the percentage of the value of the abatement and its term.
9. In order to enter into an abatement agreement, the City
Council must find that the agreement may be expected to prevent
the loss of employment within the City of Coppell, Texas, retain
employment within the City or create employment. It shall not be
acceptable that the abatement will simply have the effect of
recirculating employees within the City but must be for the
purpose of retaining, creating or preventing loss of employees
within the City of Coppell, Texas. It shall not be the purpose
of the tax abatement agreement to provide for unfair advantage to
new business owners competing with existing business in the City
of Coppell, Texas.
10. In addition to new jobs or retention of jobs in the City of
Coppell, Texas, the Council shall consider the fiscal impact on
the City from the addition of real and personal property which
will be added to the tax rolls by development of the property in
the reinvestment zone to which the tax abatement applies. In
addition to this ad valorem tax increase, sales tax income will
be considered and benefits provided in the way of education,
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health and general welfare to the citizens of the city of
Coppell, Texas will be considered. Also, the impact on local
housing will be considered and the image of the City to outside
industry and citizens of other cities and states. Some of the
purposes of the tax abatement program can also be to improve the
education, health and general welfare of the residents of the
City.
11. Any person, partnership, organization, corporation or other
entity desiring that the city of Coppell consider providing tax
abatement shall be required to comply with the following
procedural guidelines. Nothing within these guidelines shall
imply or suggest that Coppell is under any obligation to provide
tax abatement in any amount or value to any applicant.
a. Applicant shall submit an "Application for Tax
Abatement" in a form to be furnished by the City and
pay a filing fee of $1,500.00 to cover publication,
notice cost and staff time to review and process the
application.
b. Applicant shall prepare a survey map showing the
precise location of the property, its legal description
and all roadways within five hundred (500) feet of the
site, all existing land uses and zoning within five
hundred (500) feet of the site and the kind, number and
location of all existing or proposed improvements.
c. The applicant shall provide a list of the expected
benefits to the City of the overall project to assist
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in determining the long term benefit to the City and
its residents.
d. Ail information in the application package detailed
above will be reviewed by the City Council and
additional information may be requested from the owner
and the owner or its representatives at the invitation
of the Mayor will appear at such council meetings,
committee meetings and public hearings as are held in
conjunction with consideration of the application.
e. The application will be distributed to the appropriate
City departments for internal review and comments. The
City shall give notice of the Agreement to the
presiding officer of the governing body of each taxing
unit in which the property to be subject to the
Agreement is located or obtain a waiver of said notice.
The ordinance designating the property as a
reinvestment zone shall not be adopted until the City
Council has held a public hearing on the designation
after notice of such hearing is published in a
newspaper of general circulation within the City no
later than the seventh day before the public hearing
and the notice shall also be given to the applicant on
or before the date of publication.
f. Prompt notice of approval or disapproval shall be given
to the applicant and all affected jurisdictions. If an
abatement application is disapproved, an applicant may
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be granted a review or rehearing by the City Council in
which event a new application and hearing may be
required in the discretion of the Council.
g. Copies of the complete application package and staff
comments will be provided to the City Council.
h. Upon approval of the Agreement (which shall be
conditioned upon final adoption of an ordinance
designating the reinvestment zone) by a majority of the
Council members, the City Council will call the public
hearing to consider adoption of the ordinance
establishing the reinvestment zone.
i. The City Council will conduct the public hearing and
determine whether the project is feasible and practical
and would be of benefit to the land to be included in
the zone and to the municipality after the expiration
of the tax abatement agreement.
j. Upon a determination that the project is feasible and
practical, the City Council will adopt an ordinance
designating the area described in the legal description
of the proposed project as a commercial/industrial tax
abatement reinvestment zone.
k. After the public hearing, the city Council will
consider adoption of a resolution which ratifies the
terms and conditions of an agreement between the City
and the applicant, which shall govern the provisions of
the tax abatement.
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1. The Coppell Independent School District and the County
of Dallas and all other applicable taxing units, if
any, may consider ratification of and participation in
the tax abatement agreement between the City of Coppell
and the applicant.
12. An Abatement Agreement will not be adopted by the City if it
is determined that there would be a substantial adverse effect on
the providing of government services or tax basis, or the
applicant has insufficient financial capacity to carry out its
responsibilities under the proposed Agreement, or the planned use
of the property would constitute a hazard to public safety,
health or morals, or if any state or city codes or laws would be
violated.
13. After following and complying with all statutory
requirements and after a determination is made by the city
Council that a tax abatement agreement should be entered into
with an applicant, the value and term of the abatement will be
determined by the following:
a. The minimum rate of tax abatement for any tax year
shall not be less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the
increase in value up to 100% thereof.
b. In order to qualify for tax abatement, the owner of the
subject property must meet eligibility requirements to
be established in the agreement which may include,
among other things, provisions for improvements of the
property of the owner in the form of streets, utilities
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and dedication of public areas for parks, recreation or
educational facilities.
c. After the tax abatement program is properly initiated
and qualified and an agreement becomes effective, the
abatement percentage will be in effect and will
continue for the duration of the remaining term of the
tax abatement period notwithstanding any later change
in ownership of the property or any part thereof.
d. The year in which the tax abatement commences may be
made conditional as set forth in the agreement.
e. The tax abatement period shall not exceed fifteen (15)
years.
14. The tax abatement agreement between the City and the
applicant shall stipulate that employees or designated
representatives of the City and any other applicable taxing unit
which ratifies or adopts the tax abatement agreement, will have
access to the reinvestment zone during the terms of the abatement
to inspect the property to determine if the terms and conditions
of the agreement are being met. Such inspections will be made
upon the giving of reasonable notice and will be conducted in
such a manner that they will not unreasonably interfere with the
ongoing businesses and operations on the property. Inspections
will only be made in the presence of one or more representatives
of the applicant and if it is determined that the applicant is in
default according to the terms and conditions of its tax
abatement agreement, the City shall notify the applicant in
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writing, and if such default is not cured within sixty days from
the receipt of such notice, then the tax abatement agreement may
be terminated upon notice by the City.
15. If at any time during the term of the tax abatement
agreement the applicant allows his ad valorem taxes owed to the
City, or any affected applicable taxing unit who has ratified the
tax abatement agreement, to become delinquent and fails to timely
and properly follow legal procedures for the protest or contest
of same or if the applicant violates any of the terms and
conditions of the abatement agreement and fails to cure them
during the sixty day period provided above, then all taxes
previously abated by virtue of the agreement will be recaptured
and will be due and payable upon demand within sixty days of the
termination of the tax abatement agreement.
These Guidelines and criteria for Tax Abatement Agreements
were approved by resolution passed by the City Council of
coppe11, Texas on the $1st day of ~ugust, 1989.
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SIGNED:
City of Coppell, Texas
Its: Mayor
ATTEST:
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
La~r~n~e Ja-c~on/~neral ' Counse~/
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