The capacity expansion, which was approved at the City Council March 6 meeting, increases total allocatable funding and therefore project capacity within the reinvestment zone from $9.5 million to $39.5 million for water and wastewater projects. TIRZs allocate a portion of property taxes into a separate account that can be used for improvements or economic agreements within the zone.
According to city staff reports, the TIRZ 2 area includes “booming” development, including Newquest Properties' proposed Fort Bend Town Center III project at the intersection of Fort Bend Parkway Toll Road and Hwy. 6. TIRZ 2 runs primarily along Hwy. 6 from Lakeshore Harbour Boulevard to the west and North Creekmont Drive to the south; it extends north past Lake Olympia Parkway and includes the Lakeshore Harbour subdivision, according to a map on the city website.
"This is not giving the city an additional $30 million, it is creating capacity in the project plan," City Attorney Joyce Iyamu said.
The city also approved a request to allocate $7.5 million from TIRZ 2 for water and wastewater improvements, making up half of a $15 million set of eight projects that will be completed by 2024. The other $7.5 million for the $15 million project will be funded through Missouri City's 2023 certificates of obligation.
The agreement passed on March 6 is the fourth amended and restated Project and Financing Plan. The city approved the first TIRZ 2 project and financing plan in 2008, the second in 2020 and the third in 2021. The TIRZ agreement will be honored until 2049.
