City staff lists roughly 1,200 permitted housing units and more than 3,000 potential units; water demand flagged

City planning staff summarized permitted, pending and potential residential and commercial developments across Kerrville, estimating about 1,200 housing units in permitted/under‑construction phases and thousands more in the “kicking‑tires” category. Staff framed the numbers as long‑term: many developments take a decade or more from concept to full build‑out.

Joshua Young, the city’s GIS coordinator (credited for a story map), and planning staff walked council through major projects: Bluewood Phase 1 (273 apartment units, first phase of a possible two‑phase multifamily project); Freedom’s Path Phase 2 (about 50–60 units targeted for veterans on VA property); Windridge master plan (roughly 490 homes total, about 240 in phase one); Mariposa subdivision (Habitat for Humanity project with about 11 traditional Habitat homes plus roughly 30–35 production homes); and other concepts including Bridal Crossing, Kerrville 38 (conceptual 312‑unit proposal), Tybee Commons (developer‑driven multi‑family), and Whiskey Springs (a proposed PDD with golf course, multifamily, a 430‑room hotel and large commercial frontage). Staff also highlighted large commercial proposals, including a concrete‑manufacturing operation that is completing TCEQ permitting and a Landing Phase 2 (about 104 apartments). The presentation noted several projects remained conceptual, in rezoning/planning or constrained by infrastructure.

Staff presented consolidated totals and timelines: permitted/actively developing projects represent roughly 1,200 doors (apartments and single‑family); planned/permitted projects together were shown at about 1,800 doors with hotel and commercial space; and potential projects could add roughly 1,500 more doors. Staff emphasized these are estimates and many projects will not proceed immediately — Lennar’s project was noted to phase in roughly 60–70 homes per year over a roughly 10‑year horizon.

Water demand and capacity implications were a major focus. Planning/utility staff said Kerrville has roughly 11,000 meters and treats about 1.3 billion gallons annually; they use run‑of‑river first, lake impoundment, aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) next, and then groundwater. Staff gave the engineering rule‑of‑thumb of about 350 gallons per connection per day and noted that adding 2,500 new connections would increase consumption by an estimated 23%. Staff said the city is currently putting about 500,000 gallons per day into aquifer storage and withdrawing roughly 100,000 gallons per day, producing a net gain of roughly 400,000 gallons per day.

Staff stressed that some areas west of Highway 27 and toward Ingram are constrained until a large sewer expansion project is completed; other developments face flood‑plain constraints or sewer capacity limits. Headwaters groundwater rules (discussed by staff) set county‑level assumptions such as 80,000 gallons per acre per year; staff said that county level would likely produce lower densities than the city prefers and that the city’s water‑availability study could set local parameters that differ from county headwaters assumptions.

Staff said HDR (under contract) will provide a technical memorandum and identify top supply options (staff listed remote well field, reverse‑osmosis or direct‑to‑tap as options under study) and that the supply memo and CIP recommendations are expected in July. Councilmembers asked staff to prioritize clarity for developers and to consider code changes that would require low‑impact design, native landscaping, irrigation limits for new development and other conservation measures to reduce long‑term water demand.

Why this matters: the combination of substantial permitted housing, active planning proposals and water‑supply constraints means city decisions on code changes, infrastructure funding (CIP) and supply options will shape growth and net water use for years.

Clarifying figures from staff: roughly 1,200 doors in permitted/active development; about 11,000 water meters; 1.3 billion gallons of treated water per year; 350 gallons per connection per day engineering estimate; Stage 3 annual use in 2024 about 677 million gallons; commercial use roughly 260 million gallons; irrigation meters used about 70 million gallons during the cited Stage 3 period.

Council and staff discussed budgeting: staff recommended the city start setting CIP funds for identified supply projects once HDR provides recommended options; staff also noted potential state funding opportunities discussed at the meeting that could help defray local costs for reuse and other infrastructure.

The workshop closed with staff taking council’s direction to return with the water‑supply technical memorandum and to provide draft code or policy language if council wants to require different design or landscaping standards for future development.