Southlake’s City Council heard an overview Wednesday night of major updates to the city’s comprehensive plan and three utility master plans, with staff saying the emphasis will shift from growth-driven expansions to maintenance, asset management and clearer policy about private-versus-public responsibility for runoff.

"The comprehensive plan is our long range policy map. It provides the why and the where for how the city grows and invest over time," Director Daniel Cortez said as he introduced the process and timeline for the fiscal-year 2026 work. The city will update water, wastewater and stormwater plans in parallel so assumptions about growth, risk and investments align across systems, he said.

Why it matters: Southlake is nearly built out, staff said, so future choices will emphasize system resilience and maintenance instead of new installation. That approach will feed capital-improvement prioritization, utility budgeting and how the city enforces and funds post-construction stormwater controls. The stormwater program is supported by a dedicated fee, $8 a month for residential customers; staff estimate about $1.7 million will be collected in fiscal 2026.

Staff view and timeline

Cortez and Public Works Director Lauren Laneeve framed the work as policy-focused rather than engineering-only: the plans establish levels of service (what residents should expect in normal and high-demand conditions); set priorities for capital projects, maintenance and studies; and recommend funding tools. Laneeve said the stormwater master plan will balance regulatory requirements, publicly owned infrastructure and responsibilities that remain with private property owners.

The presentation named the regulatory context that constrains local choices: the MS4 general permit (stormwater municipal separate storm sewer program), the construction general permit, the Texas Water Code and local ordinances including the city’s ordinance 605 and the 2023 ordinance 1268 that added post-construction maintenance responsibilities. Cortez said staff will present technical analysis this fall, start public engagement with the corridor/planning committee and the public in January–February, draft policy in March and seek City Council adoption in April 2026.

Revenue, spending and examples

Staff said the stormwater fee brings in roughly $1.7 million in FY26 revenue; about 55% comes from residential accounts and about 42% from commercial accounts. Staff outlined how that money is currently used: the in-house drainage division covers routine inspection, debris removal, vegetation control and small repairs using operating funds; about 32% of the stormwater fee revenue transfers to the CIP (capital improvements program); and roughly 25% of the revenue services existing stormwater debt. Two debt projects noted in the presentation: a drainage improvement originally financed at $2,500,000 that is scheduled to retire in 2028, and a $2,000,000 sanitary sewer erosion protection program.

Policy questions for the committee

Examples of policy choices the planning committee will weigh include the level of storm protection the city should design for (what size storms to plan against), whether to change local ordinances for private drainage oversight, how to balance investments across capital projects, maintenance and studies, and whether the stormwater fee structure needs adjustment to meet future needs.

Public comments: erosion, private easements and retention ponds

Several residents raised site-specific concerns tied to the broader policy discussion. David Dowd, a Southlake resident who lives on Hillcastle Lane, pressed the council about long-running erosion in a recorded city easement along a local tributary: "The city is responsible [for] erosion control on that easement," Dowd said, and warned: "Sooner or later, there will be a disaster. There will be a break in the pipe, and then it's gonna come all at once." He urged incremental maintenance rather than waiting for a catastrophe.

Timberlake neighborhood residents including John Schindler and Kathy Mast reported accelerated creek scouring, overflowing banks and sediments in local channels and asked the city to prioritize targeted studies, creek maintenance and coordination with homeowners associations (HOAs). Schindler urged a "targeted stormwater impact study" and formation of a neighborhood task force; Mast said a consultant hired by residents could not find clear answers on original design storm sizes or whether upstream buildout was complete.

What the presentation didn’t decide

Council and staff did not adopt any ordinance changes or new fees on Wednesday. Staff said the master plans will propose policy tradeoffs and funding tools for committee and council consideration early next year. The city also did not commit to assuming maintenance of private stormwater systems; Cortez said such changes require evaluation of resources, liability and long-term costs.

Bottom line

The city will continue technical analyses through the end of the calendar year, begin public outreach in January, and return policy recommendations in March–April. For neighborhoods reporting erosion problems, the presentation left open whether changes to ordinances or a focused, funded maintenance program will follow; several residents asked council to prioritize targeted studies and incremental easement work ahead of a future failure.

Ending: Next steps

Staff said they will provide additional technical materials, post engagement opportunities online, and brief the planning and corridor committees before bringing policy recommendations to Planning & Zoning and City Council next spring.