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Council narrowly approves Kirk Tract development agreement after water-capacity discussion
Summary
After debate about water supply and previous review, council approved the Kirk Tract development agreement for a roughly 6.91-acre parcel (Kirk/Schneider and related) by a 4-3 vote; developer and staff said reservation agreements for water/wastewater capacity will be executed.
The Hutto City Council on April 3 approved a development agreement for the Kirk Tract after a contentious discussion about water capacity and prior staff communications; the measure passed 4-3.
The item returned to council after being considered earlier in the year. Supporters said the project represents modest, phased growth and includes utility work the developer would build, while opponents pointed to constrained city water capacity in the coming years and questioned whether projects outside the city's water CCN should receive service commitments.
Developer Nathan Hinks told council the project team had contingency plans if the city could not serve the property, including drilling wells or pursuing other sources, but said their preferred approach remained working with the city. Sarah Cervantes, the city's director of real estate, confirmed the development agreement includes language that the developer would execute water and wastewater reservation agreements tied to capacity allocations.
Council debate and vote: Council members who supported the agreement emphasized the project's commercial-residential mix and that the developer had worked with staff for multiple years; supporters also noted the city's recent water-demand figures were lower than earlier projections. Opponents cited long-term supply concerns and the city's policy change about service outside the CCN.
The final vote was 4 in favor and 3 opposed; councilmembers voting in favor noted the developer had already advanced through multiple approvals and that reservation fees would protect the city's supply planning. Opponents warned the vote could consume limited near-term capacity and urged caution until additional supply is secured.
Outcome and next steps: With approval, staff said it will finalize the development agreement and pursue the water/wastewater reservation agreements and related permitting steps; the developer said it would proceed toward engineering and phasing. Council did not indicate an immediate change to broader water-service policy for out-of-CCN development beyond this approval.
