Council approves $314,475 contract with Freese and Nichols to rewrite Unified Development Code

The City of Liberty Hill City Council voted March 12 to approve a professional services agreement with Freese and Nichols, Inc., to update the city’s Unified Development Code (UDC) and align regulations with the comprehensive plan.

The resolution (2025R016) authorizes the city manager to execute a professional services agreement for a total fee of $314,475, comprised of a $295,251 lump-sum basic services fee and a $19,224 not-to-exceed allowance for special services. The motion to approve passed 5-0.

Why it matters: Liberty Hill’s UDC was adopted in February 2005 and council members and staff said it no longer reflects the city’s growth, home-rule transition and recently adopted comprehensive plan. A rewrite is intended to update standards for zoning, subdivision, signs, landscaping and other development regulations that guide private-sector building and public infrastructure.

Freese and Nichols’ lead consultant, Chance Sparks, told the council the firm will begin with a diagnostic and then deliver code modules, discussion drafts and public drafts over a process penciled at about 15 months, with built-in buffer time. “This is the menu of regulations that shape what gets built, how it gets built, when it gets built, and how it addresses any impacts beyond its borders,” Sparks said. He described a modular drafting approach to avoid delivering a single large document at the end of the process.

Councilmembers thanked staff and the selection committee — including Councilmember Diane Williams and Planning & Zoning Chair Chad Cormack — and discussed optional support tasks. Williams urged adding two optional tasks for implementation support and a GIS visualization, and asked staff to confirm final fees; the approved $314,475 figure includes those optional services as presented to council.

The contract will be invoiced monthly on percentage complete for basic services and by time-and-materials for special services. Councilmembers said they prefer a staged, transparent public process and that the city’s lean staff will need practical, administrable code provisions. Staff indicated the work will be funded across the current and next budget cycles as needed; the city manager confirmed $200,000 was budgeted this year and remaining costs will be considered in subsequent budget cycles.

Vote: Motion to approve resolution 2025R016 passed 5-0. The mayor and all council members voted in favor.

Next steps: Staff will finalize the contract and begin the diagnostic phase; the consultant will schedule stakeholder meetings and periodic updates to Planning & Zoning and council during the drafting process.