Council declines utility-service ordinance, denying Stonewall Commercial East replat

The Liberty Hill City Council voted unanimously to disapprove Ordinance 2025-O-036, which would have authorized city water service for Lot 3 of the Stonewall Commercial East subdivision and enabled a replat that proposed two lots including a Take 5 oil change site and an anticipated Waffle House.

Staff said the replat required council action under the Unified Development Code because utility service evaluations must be approved for a replat to receive administrative approval. The replat proposal would have allocated one LUE (water allocation) for a Take 5 site and three LUEs anticipated for a Waffle House. Katie Stewart, a civil engineer with Langan Engineering, presented information on the Take 5 component and marketing materials included in the packet.

Several council members expressed concern about allocating LUEs to a project when a second proposed tenant (Waffle House) had no formal application and might not proceed. Council members said they did not want to create a de facto reservation of physical water capacity that could remain unused for years. City legal counsel said council could structure an agreement tying allocations to project milestones or conditions, but absent such an agreement allocations would follow the approved replat.

Given those concerns, a council member moved to disapprove the ordinance as presented; the motion to deny the ordinance and thereby deny the replat passed on a 6-0 vote. Staff and council discussed pursuing negotiated terms or an agreement with the applicants before bringing an allocation ordinance back to the council.

Outcome and next steps: The replat will not be approved as presented. Staff was asked to work with the applicants to explore options that could limit allocations to demonstrated timelines or conditions and to return with potential alternatives.