They may be initiated by the city or county or by petition of owners whose total holdings in the zone consist of a majority of the appraised property value.
One of the tools many states use to take up the slack by lack of federal and state funding is Tax Increment Financing (TIF), which is a public financing method used for redevelopment and community improvement projects for more than 50 years.
Texas utilizes TIF by creating tax increment reinvestment zones (TIRZs) which may be initiated by the city or county or by petition of owners whose total holdings in the zone consist of a majority of the appraised property value.
In its current state, the area must have a deleterious effect on the economic future of the creating body.
[The area must] substantially arrest or impair the sound growth of the municipality or county creating the zone, retard the provision of housing accommodations, or constitute an economic or social liability and be a menace to the public health, safety, morals, or welfare in its present condition and use...[2]However, this does not restrict the use of TIRZs to poor areas.