Thank you for your interest in the Real Estate Council of Laredo (RECL). Our region is blessed with booming growth in the areas of commercial, industrial, and residential development. As the City of Laredo and the region grows, local governments are tasked with planning and sustaining high volumes of development and its strain on infrastructure.
There are many great professionals in the public sector that shape policies and rules pertaining to all forms of development. Government administrators do their best to shape public policy and administer permitting on a limited budget and with limited, if any, private sector experience. It is vital that the private sector be engaged and provide administrators and elected officials guidance and first-hand accounts on how their policies will impact investment and economic development. There are numerous issues pertaining to industrial, commercial, and residential development that are impacted by government regulation including matters in transportation, planning, zoning, permitting, impact and other fees, land dedication and many others. Stakeholder input on these matters is critical and leads to the best public policy.
The fastest growing and most vibrant cities in Texas have understood this need and created Real Estate Councils in their areas including San Antonio, Austin, Houston and Dallas, to name a few. Their respective councils have not only been a conduit for advocacy but have grown into other areas including education, networking and business development. Austin is a great example of an area with a very progressive local government who’s policies and initiatives are a real threat to real estate growth. The Real Estate Council of Austin has grown to be a leading voice and expert authority and is sought out to provide input on various matters in that region and has helped shape public policy since the early 1990s.
Historically, the Laredo development community has been responsive in nature and only engaged once ordinances, rules and fees were implemented. In addition, there has been little coordination amongst stakeholders. Recent issues with annexation fees are but one example of the challenges developers have faced. There is a growing number of local jurisdictions throughout the state that are creating policies that make development more costly and unfairly burden new users to pay for additional government resources.
The development community, and all of the industries that support and benefit from them, can accomplish more with a collective voice. The nuances and uniqueness of this industry calls for an independent organization that is focused on the priorities of this sector. We are calling on all stakeholder groups to join forces and speak in a unified voice and help shape the future of real estate in Laredo.