Ector County seeks impact‑fee waivers and deannexation for major county projects; Odessa city staff to craft agreement

Ector County officials told the Odessa City Council on June 10 they want an agreement that would spare county projects from city impact fees and remove city annexation requirements for several large county developments, including a new courthouse, library and parking garage.

An Ector County representative said the county has roughly $250 million in courthouse work and about $60 million planned for a library, plus a parking garage, juvenile detention facility and other projects. The representative asked the city to either amend the impact‑fee ordinance or enter an interlocal agreement to exempt county public projects from impact fees and to accept county projects under city service terms without subjecting them to duplicative permits or higher out‑of‑city utility rates.

Why it matters: County officials argued the projects are public infrastructure and that requiring both county and city approvals or charging impact fees intended to fund city growth would be duplicative and counterproductive for public projects paid by taxpayers.

What was discussed

Dan (city attorney) confirmed the city can charge impact…