By Juan Montoya
The City of Brownsville Commission will vote on first reading the 2020 Historic Preservation Plan Ordinance at today's meeting at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.
In 2019, 83 properties were included in the preservation plan and the 2020 plan will total 95, 12 more than last year.In all, if approved, the plan will cost the city $94,583 in tax forgones. Among some of the properties are properties owned by Mayor Trey Mendez (3) and commissioner Rose Gowen and other prominent local residents like the McNair Family (3) and some pioneer families such as Simon Celaya, J.T. Canales, Alexander Stillman, etc.
Others have been bought by attorneys and restored for use as law offices of rented. Still others retain only a small percentage of the original structure and have had additions such as swimming pools and dwelling spaces that do not date back to the buildings' original construction.
Others qualified for the tax exemption because of their "association" with prominent groups in the community or because they house artifacts from historical prominent people.
Some commissioners say they want to "tighten" up the rules under which the properties are included in the tax exemption rolls.
Under the plan, some properties will receive 100 percent tax exemption, others 50 and some were removed due to the deterioration of the structures or failure by the owner to preserve the structures.
Depending on whether the properties are on te national register, a Texas Historical Landmark, local designated primary resource, have had substantial historical rehabilitation or is being proposed substantial rehab, they are allotted different exemption percentages.
Although the ordinance requires the city to visit each property and to recommend inclusion or exclusion for tax exemption, some of the properties still on the tax exempt categories are in obvious need of repair or restoration.
And increasingly, some residents are asking why some of the properties have been granted 100 percent tax exemption by the city for as much as 11 years.
Have well-to-do investors in real estate hit upon the plan of purchasing historically-designated places with the knowledge that they will invest to restore them and then get a free ride on future ad valorem taxes?
"It's almost as if the exemption has become an entitlement for the well-to-do investors at the expense of the rest of the city's residents," said a local real estate developer.
8 comments:
There's a corner lot and a building on russell and los ebanos that has a historical marker and they rent that place for dances and other things daaaaa where's the inspectors on this or they just don't care or there is no enforcement on this kind of kick backs.
Don't forget ECL's place on Sunset.
Future candidates for public office should not own personal properties with "historical designations" for which they don't pay a penny on property taxes. City commissioners and Mayor should be setting the example and be paying their fair share of taxes instead of taking advantage as some current sitting commissioners are doing. Hopefully, the city will pass an ordinance in which will ban candidates from running for public office while owning properties designated as "Historical ".
Mexicans...always weaseling some way to get something FREE!
There is absolutely no reason Rose Gowen's home should be free of property taxes. And we must assume that by the J.T. Canales property you mean the house Julieta Garcia lives in, which was "given" to her by Rose Cardenas as a "freebie" and which was renovated by TSC for Julieta. Both these properties should be removed from tax protections and Gown and Garcia should have to pay property taxes. They are cheating the taxpayers of Brownsville.
12% of properties in Brownsville are owned by tax exempts too.
They get free paving police and fire services.
"Historical Designation " is just a smoke screen so the greedy don't have to pay property taxes. These designations should be given to museums and other public places and absolutely not for personal homes. City commission, get with the program and start doing something about this double standards, elected officials should not have historical Desiganations on their personal homes, they should be setting the example for their constituents and be paying their fair share.
"Historical designation " is only a smoke screen so the greedy don't have to pay a penny on property taxes. Therefore, "Historical designations" should and must only apply to buildings that are accessible to the public such as museums and should not be given to personal homes. Make these people pay their fair share and if they are elected officials, they should be setting the example instead of milking the system as some current elected officials are doing. Shame on them for setting a bad example for their constituents.
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