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WHEREAS, Article 8, Section I-F of the Texas Constitution and Section 11.24 of the
Texas Property Tax Code enable the City of Denton to exempt from taxation part or all of the
assessed value of certain historically significant sites in need of tax relief to encourage their
preservation; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Denton finds such tax relief is needed to
encourage the preservation of historic structures and sites within the Downtown Commercial
District of the City of Denton, commercial buildings within historic districts, historic
conservation districts or any commercial building that the City Council deems historic or in need
of preservation; and
WHEREAS, the City Council also finds that such tax relief will provide economic
incentive to develop projects in historic buildings worthy of preservation; NOW, THEREFORE,
SECTION 1. Section 10-133 of Article VII, Chapter 10, "Finance and Taxation" of the
Code of Ordinances of the City of Denton, Texas, is hereby amended to read as follows:
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Applications for a historically significant site tax exemption pursuant to this article are to
be filed with the Preservation Officer (or such other city official designated by the City
Manager) of the City of Denton, who shall be the agent for the City of Denton for the
purposes of administering this article. Each application must be signed by the owner of
the property, be acknowledged before a notary public and shall:
1. State the legal description of the property proposed for Certification;
2. Include an affidavit by the owner stating the structure is 50 years old or older and is
located within the Downtown Commercial District of the City of Denton,
commercial buildings within historic districts, historic conservation districts or any
commercial building that the City Council deems historic or in need of
preservation;
3. Include detailed plans and/or descriptions of the proposed work demonstrating
rehabilitation is in accordance with the current Property Appearance Guidelines
adopted by ordinance of the City Council;
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4. Include cost estimates indicating the repair or rehabilitation of the exterior of the
building will equal or exceed 25% of the most recent assessed ad valorem tax
valuation of the structure or $20,000, whichever is less. Roof repair or replacement
may comprise no more than 50% of the minimum threshold amount necessary to
qualify for tax abatement;
5. Include a projection of the estimated construction time and predicted completion
date of the historic repair or rehabilitation;
6. Authorize the members of the Historic Landmark Commission, the City Manager or
designee, and elected officials to visit and inspect the property proposed for
Certification to verify that it is in need of substantial repair or rehabilitation and to
verify repair or rehabilitation;
7. Sign an agreement to submit an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness to
determine compliance with Property Appearance Guidelines for any exterior
modifications to the property for the duration of the period during which the tax
abatement is in effect;
8. Include a tax certificate showing all taxes due upon the property have been paid;
and
9. Provide any additional information to the Historic Landmark Commission which
the owner or Committee deems relevant or useful, such as the history of the
structure, access to the structure by the public, or any proposed changes in use of
the structure.
Each application shall contain sufficient documentation confirming or supporting the
information submitted therein.
SECTION 2. Section 10-136 of Article VII, Chapter 10, "Finance and Taxation" of the Code of
Ordinances of the City of Denton, Texas, is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 10-136. PROPERTY APPEARANCE GUIDELINES
The Property Appearance Guidelines on file in the office of the Preservation Officer,
the Planning Department and such other office as the City Manager may designate, are
hereby approved and incorporated herein and made a part hereof for all purposes. The
Property Appearance Guidelines shall be periodically reviewed by the Historical
Landmark Commission and desired changes by the Commission to such guidelines shall
be recommended to the City Council. Any changes to the Property Appearance
Guidelines shall not be effective until such changes are approved by the City Council.
The City Council may direct the City Manager or the Preservation Officer to propose
certain changes to the Property Appearance Guidelines but such changes shall not be
adopted by City Council without a recommendation from the Historic Landmark
Commission.
SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase or word in
this ordinance, or application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid by any court
of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of
this ordinance, and the City Council of the City of Denton, Texas hereby declares it would have
enacted such remaining portions despite any such invalidity.
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SFICTION 4. Save and except as amended hereby, all the provisions, sections,
subsections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, and phrases of Chapter 10 of the Code of Ordinances
shall remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 5. This ordinance shall become effective fourteen (14) days from the date of
its passage, and the City Secretary is hereby directed to cause the caption of this ordinance to be
published twice in the Denton Record -Chronicle, a daily newspaper published in the City of
Denton, Texas, within ten (10) days of the date of its passage.
PASSED AND APPROVED this the day of 2014
ATTEST:
JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY
BY:�
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM:
ANITA BURGESS, CITY ATTORNEY
BY:
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