New Dog's Head demands

Today the mayor and Council members Chito Vela, Mike Siegel and Jose Velasquez called for the planned Dog's Head development to include a substantial commitment to affordable housing and "environmental improvements."

Dog's Head is a massive mixed-use project by Endeavor Real Estate that will include a manufacturing facility linked to an unidentified Fortune 100. Endeavor has agreed to let the city annex the 2,600 acre tract, which previously sat just outside city limits, in exchange for substantial infrastructure investments by the city. The cost of the infrastructure would be recouped through a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone.

Part of the statement:

Specifically, we’re asking that consideration be given to protecting undeveloped riparian areas and support a contiguous greenspace and wildlife protection zone along the Colorado River, consistent with the Colorado River Corridor plan.

Additionally, we would like there to be analysis of an appropriate set aside of money for parkland in the TIRZ and an appropriate set aside of money for affordable housing outside of the TIRZ. Other Texas cities, including Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston, have set aside specific percentages of TIRZ funds for affordable housing and we’d like to see a substantial commitment here.

Watson and the Council members further suggested that they would like the city's general fund to begin receiving tax revenue from the project as soon as the tax base begins to grow. Where the new tax revenue generated in a TIRZ goes depends on how the TIRZ is set up. In some cases, the new revenue does not begin flowing into city coffers to fund core services (police, parks, libraries etc) until the debt is retired on the infrastructure, which can take decades.