Developer pitches Thompson Grove: 18‑acre PD, voluntary annexation and neighborhood standards
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Summary
Kelby Golden of Onyx Development presented Thompson Grove — an 18‑acre planned single‑family project proposed for Anna's extraterritorial jurisdiction — saying the concept yields roughly 76 lots and would come into the city by voluntary annexation paired with a public improvement district.
Kelby Golden of Onyx Development Company told the Anna City Council on Oct. 27 that the Thompson Grove site is an 18‑acre parcel in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction and that the current concept yields about 76 single‑family lots. "This site is 18 acres," Golden said, outlining a plan for SF‑6 zoning (50‑foot lots, 120‑foot depth) and a voluntary annexation in exchange for the city's consent to a public improvement district.
The presentation emphasized design and streetscape commitments the developer proposes to include in a development agreement. Golden said the project would include a masonry wall and a living screen along Ferguson Parkway, narrower front setbacks consistent with surrounding subdivisions, and a range of home elevations — Tudor, craftsman, Texas vernacular and modern farmhouse — intended to raise the neighborhood's architectural standard.
The developer identified several variances it would request, including a maximum lot coverage of 55 percent, relief from a 10‑foot lot depth requirement for lots backing Ferguson and a variance for minimum cul‑de‑sac length. Golden said some commitments (for example, a 70 percent masonry frontage standard) would be included in a development agreement if the property is annexed because those standards are not enforceable while the land remains in the ETJ.
Golden provided fiscal estimates the team used to support annexation. He said voluntary annexation would produce about $390,000 in impact fees and roughly $7.7 million in ad valorem taxes over 30 years — an incremental revenue impact the developer summarized as “a little over $8,000,000.”
Council members focused on storm drainage, the project's relationship to Ferguson Parkway and the financial mechanics of building the missing Ferguson roadway. Golden described three options: (1) building a curved connector to avoid un‑acquired right‑of‑way, (2) building the existing orange‑marked section to current right‑of‑way limits or (3) dedicating the right‑of‑way and seeking credits toward roadway costs. He told council the supply value of the roadway he would build is roughly $1.2 million while the demand (impact fees) comes to about $395,000, and said that gap made full construction without city or other contributions infeasible.
Council members said they appreciated the quality of the elevations and the developer's attention to details such as roof pitch and materials. Questions addressed HOA operation, rental limits and amenities: Golden proposed a 3 percent rental cap, a single‑owner restriction per unit to discourage corporate investor portfolios, and a $250 lease‑review fee that could be waived for hardship situations. He also said an 18‑acre site and the small lot count make a full amenity center impractical; instead, the developer proposed "portfolio"‑style HOA management with limited maintenance responsibilities and efforts to "amenitize" the detention pond.
City staff and council asked the developer to continue refining drainage studies (including a platted HOA lot in Oak Hollow that currently receives flow through a weir structure) and to continue coordination on right‑of‑way and roadway timing with the city's CIP and the county. No formal action was taken; the item was presented as a work session to solicit council feedback.
Provenance: The Thompson Grove work session began in council comments and staff introduction at 00:10:51 and concluded with the developer's final answers at 00:49:43. Evidence includes the developer's description of site acreage, lot yield and fiscal estimates and council questions about Ferguson Parkway and drainage.
