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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPR 24753: ELECTION REGARDING PLEASURE ISLAND P.R. NO. 24753 1/21/2026 RPC RESOLUTION No. A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS, To INSTRUCT CITY STAFF TO PREPARE A RESOLUTION AND To HOLD AN ELECTION DECLARING PLEASURE ISLAND AS A SLUM AND BLIGHTED AREA THAT REQUIRES REHABILITATION,CONSERVATION,OR SLUM CLEARANCE AND REDEVELOPMENT FOR THE PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY, MORALS, OR WELFARE OF THE RESIDENTS.(REQUESTED BY COUNCILMEMBER LEWIS) WHEREAS,under Chapter 374 of the Texas Local Government Code,the Texas Legislature finds that slum and blighted areas exist in municipalities and that those areas: (1) are a serious and growing menace that is injurious and inimical to the public health, safety, morals, and welfare of the residents; (2) contribute substantially and increasingly to the spread of disease and crime, requiring excessive and disproportionate expenditure of public funds for the preservation of the public health and safety, and for crime prevention, correctional facilities, prosecution and punishment,treatment of juvenile delinquency,and the maintenance of adequate police,fire, and accident protection and other public services and facilities; and (3) constitute an economic and social liability,substantially impair the sound growth of affected municipalities, and retard the provision of housing accommodations. WHEREAS,Chapter 374 of the Texas Local Government Code further permits a municipality to order an election for the majority of voters to decide whether a specific area of the City is a slum and blighted area that requires rehabilitation,conservation,or slum clearance and redevelopment for the public health, safety, morals, or welfare of the residents of the municipality; and WHEREAS,before adopting a resolution declaring an area to be slum and blighted, the governing body must give notice of the proposed resolution and must hold an election on the question. The notice must be published at least twice in the official newspaper and must state that,on a date that is specified in the notice, and that is after the 60th day after the date the notice is first published, the City Council will consider the question of holding an election to determine whether it should adopt the resolution. On the date specified in the notice to consider the question, the City Council may order an election on its own motion to consider the resolution; and WHEREAS, if a majority of the voters approve the area as slum and blighted, then the City Council may adopt a resolution declaring the area slum and blighted. If a majority of the voters are against the resolution,then the City may not adopt it and may not prepare the resolution again for a one-year period; and Pr WHEREAS, the Pleasure Island Advisory Board Commission adopted a support resolution at its January 12,2026,meeting declaring APPROXIMATELY 900 ACRES OF THE AREA KNOWN AS "PA-8" on Pleasure Island a designated Brownfield Redevelopment Zone,based on spoil disposal practices and environmental impairment. See Exhibit 1. WHEREAS,the governing body of the City finds that this is in the best interest of the citizens of Port Arthur for voters to determine whether the ENTIRE Pleasure Island is a slum and blighted area. Now THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR,TEXAS: SECTION 1. That the facts and the above recitals are true and correct and hereby incorporated for all purposes. SECTION 2. That the City Council hereby instructs city staff to prepare a resolution and ordinance to order an election that will declare Pleasure Island as a slum and blighted area and that the rehabilitiation, the conservation,or the slum clearance and redevelopment of the area is necessary for the public health, safety, morals, or welfare of the city's residents. SECTION 3. That the City Council hereby instructs the city staff to comply with Chapter 374 of the Texas Local Government Code and other applicable law, as prescribed. SECTION 4. This Resolution shall take effect immediately from and after the date of passage and is so resolved. SECTION 5. That a copy of the caption of this Resolution shall be spread upon the Minutes of the City Council. READ,ADOPTED AND APPROVED,this 27th day of January, 2026 AD, at a Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Port Arthur, Texas by the following vote: Mayor: Councilmembers: • NOES: . Charlotte M. Moses, Mayor ATTEST: Sherri Bellard, City Secretary APPROVED AS TO FORM: Roxann Pais Cotroneo, JD, City Attorney APPROVED FOR ADMINISTRATION: Ronald Burton, CPM, City Manager EXHIBIT 1 PLEASURE ISLAND ADVISORY BOARD COMMISSION RESOLUTION NO.01-2025 A RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR FORMALLY DECLARE APPROXIMATELY 900 ACRES OF THE AREA KNOWN AS "PA-8," LOCATED ON PLEASURE ISLAND,AS A DESIGNATED BROWNFIELD REDEVELOPMENT ZONE,BASED ON HISTORICAL U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS SPOIL DISPOSAL PRACTICES AND DOCUMENTED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPAIRMENT. WHEREAS,the Pleasure Island Advisory Board Commission ("Commission") is charged with governance on Pleasure Island,that focuses on advisory capacity in the facets of management, operation, stewardship, and maintenance of municipal property and public assets on Pleasure Island,including areas historically impacted by federal dredge operations;and WHEREAS, multiple decades of dredge spoil placement, sediment deposition, and fill operations by the United States Army Corps of Engineers ("USACE") have materially altered a portion of the PA-8 tract, consisting of approximately 900 acres, resulting in disturbed hydrology, buried wetlands, and the creation of artificial spoil mounds and impaired soils; and WHEREAS, the Commission has direct historical knowledge of long-term federal spoil disposal practices on PA-8, including repeated instances of spoil deposition that have rendered the property environmentally degraded, underutilized, and unsuitable for productive municipal or public-benefit uses;and WHEREAS, the Commission acknowledges that the conditions present on portions of PA-8 are consistent with the definition of a Brownfield under CERCLA §101(39), the EPA Brownfields Program,the Texas Urban Renewal Law(Tex.Loc.Gov't Code Chapter 374),and Texas Government Code §380.001, each of which recognizes sites with actual or*potential* contamination as candidates for formal Brownfield designation; and WHEREAS, Brownfield redevelopment is recognized under Texas law as a valid municipal public purpose, including: the elimination of environmental blight; the restoration of impaired or abandoned land; the improvement of public health and safety; and the support of economic development and public-benefit land use;and WHEREAS, the Commission further finds that redevelopment of a portion of PA-8 would materially benefit Pleasure Island,improve environmental conditions,and support long-term economic vitality consistent with City objectives;and WHEREAS,the City Council of the City of Port Arthur,as the governing body and landowner of record(pursuant to the 1934, 1937,and 1997 State of Texas land patents),holds exclusive legal authority to formally classify municipal property as a Brownfield redevelopment zone; and WHEREAS, the Commission finds it necessary, prudent, and in the public's best interest to formally recommend that the City exercise its full statutory authority to declare a portion of PA-8 a Brownfield Redevelopment Zone for the purposes of environmental remediation, public-purpose redevelopment,and the elimination of long-term blight caused by historical federal use. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE PLEASURE ISLAND ADVISORY BOARD COMMISSION THAT: SECTION 1. RECOMMENDATION FOR BROWNFIELD DESIGNATION. The Pleasure Island Advisory Board Commission hereby formally recommends that the City of Port Arthur declare a portion the PA-8 tract(approximately 900 acres on Pleasure Island) a Brownfield Redevelopment Zone, pursuant to CERCLA§101(39),Texas Local Government Code Chapter 374,and Texas Government Code§380.001. SECTION 2.BASIS OF RECOMMENDATION. This recommendation is based on the following findings: 1.To promote Economic&Community Development on Pleasure Island 2.To shift the narrative of Long-term dredge spoil deposition by USACE; 3. Impaired soil and hydrological conditions; 4.Evidence of environmental blight; 5.Underutilization of property caused by historic federal operations; 6.Conditions complicating reuse, redevelopment&further development; SECTION 3.TRANSMISSION TO CITY COUNCIL. The Commission humbly recommends this Resolution be transmitted to the Office of the City Manager, the City Attorney, the Mayor and City Council for placement on the next available City Council agenda,to be spread across the minutes and further empowering the Director of Pleasure Island to secure such designation. SECTION 4.COORDINATION WITH ECONOMIC &COMMUNITY DEVELOPERS The Commission supports continued engagement with all current developers/stakeholders on Pleasure Island regarding the redevelopment of PA-8 and recommends that the City Council recognize all developers within the 900 acres as public-purpose partners for the Brownfield redevelopment activities. SECTION 5.EFFECTIVE DATE. This Resolution is effective immediately upon approval by the Pleasure Island Advisory Board Commission. PASSED AND APPROVED this day of ,2025.