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Council approves Nature Ridge 4 final plat and new city-funded assessment approach to accelerate infrastructure
Summary
The council approved the final plat for Nature Ridge Fourth and agreed to a new assessment-and-waiver structure that lets the city fund infrastructure up front and recoup costs via 15-year assessments or earlier on lot sales.
The Austin City Council voted unanimously to approve the final plat for Nature Ridge Fourth, to accept a development agreement for public infrastructure, and to approve an agreement of assessment and waiver that will let the city finance construction up front and collect costs from the new lots over time.
City staff said the preliminary plat had been approved earlier and that outstanding conditions — city engineer and Austin Utilities signoffs, developer-submitted civil drawings and a development agreement — were satisfied for final approval. The council approved the final plat and the development agreement by unanimous vote.
A separate council action approved a new assessment agreement and a waiver of certain development-agreement requirements so the city can fund construction of streets, utilities and grading for the approximately 30 lots that the developer controls. Steven (city staff) told the council the city would build the public infrastructure and assess 100% of the construction cost to the 30 lots. The assessment would normally be paid back over a 15-year period at tax time; if a lot sells before then, the remaining assessment would be paid in full at sale.
Steven described the intended funding flow as a trial use of the city’s capital improvement revolving fund: the city will pay construction costs up front and recover them over time as assessments are collected. He said the city would require engineering and surveying confirmation that stormwater ponds meet original design specifications before the city accepts ownership of the ponds and trail outlets. Councilors and staff also discussed the security for the city if payments are not made; a representative for the developer, Miss Stroud of Nature Ridge, said the developer’s land would serve as security.
Council members approved a resolution authorizing the development agreement and then approved the assessment agreement and waiver by unanimous vote. Councilors emphasized that the arrangement is intended to make it easier for a developer to build single-family lots when private capital is hard to secure, while allowing the city to recoup costs through assessments or upon lot sale.
Staff said signed documents from the developer were delivered to City Hall the same day and that staff would move to execute the development agreement and proceed with planned work once legal and administrative steps are complete.
