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Council debates water, annexation and legal limits as Ottawa Estacado Estates preliminary plat proceeds by operation of law
Summary
Councilors pressed the developer and staff about groundwater availability, septic feasibility and pipeline easements for a proposed 74‑lot subdivision in the ETJ; staff said the plat met state requirements and, with no motion taken, the preliminary plat will be approved by operation of law after the state shot‑clock expires.
Elizabeth Triggs, Planning and Development Officer for the City of Midland, presented a preliminary plat for Ottawa Estacado Estates, a proposed 91.9‑acre subdivision in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) that would create approximately 74 lots (majority ~1 acre) and a roughly 15‑acre retention area. The developer, Santa Cruz Properties West LLC, requests groundwater and septic service because the site lies outside the city’s certificate of convenience and necessity and is not eligible for annexation.
Triggs told council that state law now requires a 30‑year groundwater availability study when groundwater is proposed as the water source, and that the developer had submitted such a study. Council members voiced repeated concern about relying on groundwater for a dense cluster of single‑family lots in an area the city will not be able to annex or supply with municipal water in the future. Several council…
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