Granbury council approves annexation of 2,090 acres despite residents’ water, health and transparency concerns

Granbury City Council voted to adopt ordinance 26-02 on a petition to voluntarily annex about 2,090 acres known as Knox Ranch at 2801 West Highway 377, moving the land inside city limits despite extensive public opposition.

City Attorney Jeremy Sorrell told the council the annexation petition complied with Chapter 43 of the Texas Local Government Code and stressed the item before the council was the annexation petition, not a development plan. "There is absolutely no application for any development received by the city as to that property," Sorrell said, noting the city’s review focuses first on legal compliance and then on whether annexation serves citizens’ interests.

The annexation drew more than two dozen public commenters. Many residents said they feared industrial uses — in particular data centers or power generation — that could increase water demand, air pollution and noise near schools, a hospital and elder-care facilities. Dr. Shannon Watts, a board-certified pediatrician, said the tract lies within about 0.75–1 mile of multiple Granbury schools and several nursing homes and voiced health concerns tied to emissions. "I'm here to ask you not to annex the property known as Knox Ranch into the city of Granbury," she said, citing peer-reviewed research on hazardous air pollutants.

Several speakers asked the council to delay action and release more information, including any nondisclosure agreements, environmental impact assessments, and water-use and energy projections. Rachel Jacobson urged the council to "slow down, delay the vote, release the full details under the Public Information Act, environmental impact studies, incentive agreements, energy, water usage projections, health assessments," and to hold additional hearings with experts and affected residents.

Speakers in favor of annexation argued that development pressures will occur whether the land is inside or outside city limits and that annexation gives Granbury regulatory control. Tony Callaway, who said he worked as an architect and planner for retailers, said annexation enables the city’s planning and permitting process to apply higher standards. "If it's in the county, there are very few controls on development within the county," Callaway said.

Hamlet Peguero, an adjacent landowner, told the council that permit applications associated with major electric generation had been filed for the land and said that fact made the timing of the annexation relevant to neighbors. The city attorney and staff maintained that, at the time of the hearing, the only filing before the city was the voluntary annexation petition.

Community Development Director Kara Walley briefed council on the site and staff recommendation, describing the property’s location west of town between Paluxy Road and West Highway 377 and noting infrastructure considerations; staff recommended approval of the voluntary petition.

After public comment and brief council remarks about process, Council Member Webley moved to adopt ordinance 26-02; Overdure seconded. Mayor Chris Kaufman called for the vote. Council members answered "aye" and the motion passed. The clerk recorded the motion as adopted; the ordinance and annexation petition will be part of the public record going forward.

What happens next: annexation makes the property subject to the city’s zoning and permitting processes if and when a development application is filed. Several residents asked the city to require and publish independent environmental and water‑use studies before any subsequent development proposals are considered. The council did not take those additional conditions in tonight’s vote.