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Developers pitch Chandler Road industrial project to Hutto over wastewater service options
Summary
A developer presented a conceptual advanced manufacturing project on Chandler Road and asked the Hutto City Council about tapping Hutto's wastewater service rather than a longer, costlier connection to Round Rock. Council and staff focused on costs, jurisdictional issues and whether the developer would construct required lines and easements.
Amanda Brown, a consultant with HGBrown Consulting, told the Hutto City Council on March 27 that a conceptual advanced-manufacturing and distribution project on the north side of Chandler Road is seeking a wastewater service solution. The site sits in Round Rock's extraterritorial jurisdiction and in Jonah's water CCN, Brown said; the developer is requesting consideration to incorporate into Hutto's wastewater CCN only.
The developer presented before council because pulling Round Rock's wastewater infrastructure to the site would require roughly 10,500 feet of pipeline and an expensive lift station the team estimated at about $10,000,000. Amanda Brown said Round Rock has no anticipated timeline for that work.
City Engineer Matt Recker and consulting engineer Ben Green said Hutto could serve the site with a shorter, gravity-flow route to existing Hutto infrastructure. Kimley Horn project engineer Ben Green said the SCR planned by the developer was written to have the developer construct the green-line extension and obtain the public wastewater easements; in that scenario the line would tie into the north side of Emory Crossing where Hutto already has infrastructure. March Capital representative Pete Goranson said connecting to Hutto instead of Round Rock was roughly one-fifth the cost of the Round Rock option and would avoid a multimillion-dollar lift station.
Council members and staff raised legal and practical questions: whether pursuing service inside another city's ETJ could create conflicts, whether right-of-way acquisition across private or Round Rock-owned parcels would be feasible, and whether an ETJ/CCN swap would be appropriate or too complex. City Engineer Recker noted past discussions about exchange swaps across Highway 130 and said Hutto could re-open those talks with Round Rock.
Brown and the development team emphasized that the developer's Service Extension Request (SER) currently obligates the developer to build the indicated line and that any upsizing to serve additional off-site properties could require cost-sharing and a council decision. Ben Green added that portions of the alignment were expected to be built by the developer in phases and that bringing the line to Hutto would likely make wastewater service available to other properties north of 79 that otherwise lack access.
Councilmembers sought more analysis on financial impacts and on whether the proposed line would fit Hutto's long-term CCN and CIP priorities. Recker said the area was not previously on Hutto's expansion plans because it lies outside Hutto's CCN and ETJ, so staff had not run full cost-benefit numbers; he said staff could analyze whether the developer-built line would save Hutto money on later expansions or create long-term obligations.
Council did not make a formal decision. Staff and the developer agreed to continue interjurisdictional conversations, and several council members asked staff to assess cost, easement and timing risks before any later action.
Ending: The council did not vote on the request; staff said it will continue to coordinate with the developer and Round Rock to refine cost, easement, and jurisdictional options and report back to council.
