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Courtesy Xochitl Mora,

The NEZ program saves money on construction and rehabilitation

 Laredo, TX  The City of Laredo created the NEZ Program to improve City Council Districts III and VIII by encouraging private investment in housing, businesses, and services in NEZ areas.  The NEZ Program is the vehicle by which incentives like building permit fee waivers and municipal property tax abatements can be granted to homeowners, investor-owners and developers proposing new construction projects or rehabilitation projects that are located within the NEZ area.

 “This was a public private partnership between me, Council Member Liendo, and Team Streets Of Laredo to bring people and investments back to our older, historic communities,” said District III Council Member Alex Perez, Jr.  “We worked on this effort for over a year and researched many other communities that have similar incentive programs. If businesses or residents invest a certain amount of money within the NEZ boundaries, they can save substantially on their building fees and taxes for the next five to ten years. We have already received applications from interested residents, and I am excited to see such a successful start to this new program.”

 Citizens can apply for NEZ Incentives at the City of Laredo Building Development Services Department, located at 1120 San Bernardo Avenue.  When applying for a building permit, and if required, a zoning change, staff will assess the project at that time to determine if it is NEZ eligible.  If it meets all criteria, you will receive notice that your project has been certified to receive NEZ incentives.

 The process to review and determine if a project qualifies for NEZ Incentives takes about five to seven days.

 Criteria for becoming certified to receive NEZ Incentives include:

• The property must be located in the NEZ area;
• The proposed rehab must be 20% or more than the Webb County Appraisal District improvement value of the property;
• The property must be zoned correctly;
• The property is a permanent structure, and not a mobile structure;
• The owner/developer is not delinquent in paying taxes and does not have any City liens against any property they own.

 “The NEZ program is designed to help create areas of interest in older neighborhoods,” said District VIII Council Member Cindy Liendo.  “This program should really impact our historic downtown and Council Member Perez’s district, as well, by allowing the home and business owners to help drive the improvements.”

 Fees for the program include a residential tax-abatement application fee of $100.  The application fee for multi-family, commercial, industrial, community facilities and mixed-use development project is one-half of one percent (0.5%) of the proposed projects Capital Investment, with a $150 minimum not to exceed $1,000.  If the application is approved for tax abatements, City staff will work with the applicant to finalize the tax abatement agreement with the City of Laredo.

 However, property owners are not required to participate in this program.  The owner of the property will be required to sign an NEZ Disclaimer acknowledging that they were informed about the program, but declined to participate.  Proof of ownership and a copy of the warranty deed will be required.

 Basic incentives available in an NEZ include municipal property tax abatement, such as:

• Owner occupied property;
• Investor-owned single family property;
• Single family development project;
• Commercial, industrial or community facilities development project;
• Mixed –use development project.

 Additionally, certain fees may be waived for qualified properties or projects, including:

1. Building Permit;
2. Plan Review;
3. Plumbing Permit;
4. Electrical Permit;
5. Mechanical Permit;
6. Fire Inspection;
7. Right-of-Way Permit (curb and street cut)
8. Plat application fee (including concept plan, preliminary plat, final plat, short form replat);
9. Board of Adjustment application fee;
10. Demolition Fee;
11. Zoning application fee;
12. Street and utility easement vacation application fee; and
13. Impact fee.

 Fees one through 6 listed above are automatically waived.  Fees seven through thirteen will be waived on a case by case basis.

 “We are excited about seeing how this program develops in these two historic districts,” said City Manager Carlos Villarreal.  “I commend Council Members Perez and Liendo on their hard work initiating this new program.”

 For more information on the Neighborhood Empowerment Zone, please call the Building Development Services Department at 956-794-1625.