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Denton Council hears detailed plan for 2,500‑acre Craver Ranch development and proposed MMD
Summary
Developers and city staff outlined a 2,500‑acre master‑planned community called Craver Ranch that would create a municipal management district to finance roughly $400 million in infrastructure, deliver parks and school sites, and build as many as 9,200 homes over nearly two decades; council members pressed for more fiscal detail and downstream drainage analysis.
City staff and the developer presented a large master‑planned community proposal for northern Denton at the council’s Oct. 21 meeting, describing plans for infrastructure, public amenities and a Municipal Management District (MMD) to finance construction.
Charlie Rosenthal, interim director of Development Services, told council the property was annexed in 2008–09 and that the Craver Ranch project being proposed would cover approximately 2,500 of the annexed acres. Rosenthal described the MMD as “a separate political subdivision … that can collect property taxes or assessments” and said the district would be structured so the developer or the district fronts infrastructure costs and issues bonds that are repaid from the district’s assessments.
Developer representative Alexa Knight emphasized scale and amenities, calling Craver Ranch “a $5,100,000,000 assessed value project once it’s fully developed,” and outlined what she described as heavy investment in parks and trails: a proposed 358‑acre central park, 13.5 miles of trails, 380 acres of combined park and open space, and donated sites for two fire stations and three public school sites (two elementary, one middle) to be split between Denton ISD and Sanger ISD.
The developer and staff said they expect about 9,200 residential units and 1.2 million square feet of commercial space at build‑out, with roughly $400 million in public‑infrastructure costs and a proposed construction timeline measured in decades. Rosenthal said portions of water and sewer infrastructure would connect to existing and planned city mains, that the city would maintain water facilities after an initial warranty period, and that drainage outside rights‑of‑way would be maintained by the MMD.
Council members focused on technical and fiscal details. Several asked for more analysis of long‑term lifecycle costs and the fiscal model that underpins projected net city revenue. Multiple members also pressed staff and the developer for downstream drainage and flood‑flow studies, citing the site’s flowage easement tied to Lake Ray Roberts and concerns about impacts to Clear Creek basin downstream. KFM Engineering clarified that the developer has performed multiple drainage, water and wastewater studies and offered a higher sewer‑system construction estimate in public comment.
Staff said the item is a work session to seek council feedback; the project will go to the Planning & Zoning Commission for hearings, and the council is scheduled to consider formal operating and development agreements along with zoning and mobility amendments at a later meeting, currently forecast for December.
What’s next: staff and the developer committed to follow up with council on the fiscal assumptions and to provide additional drainage and traffic modeling details before the project returns for formal approvals.
