Charter commission urges council to adopt ETJ impact-notice policy

The Pflugerville Charter Review Commission voted to recommend that City Council adopt a formal procedure to notify landowners in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction when infrastructure or other city projects would materially affect their property. Chair (the commission’s presiding member) said commissioners had heard repeated complaints about limited notification radii on past road and utility projects and wanted greater transparency for affected ETJ residents.

Commission members discussed options ranging from a charter-embedded requirement to a council-level policy. Supporters said a formalized notice process — potentially widening the radius used for mailed notices beyond the 500-foot practice mentioned in the meeting — would reduce incidents where residents felt “taxed without representation” or surprised by project impacts. Others argued the charter should remain principle-level and that operational details belong in council policy or administrative procedures.

Committee member Ali (proposal author) told the group the intent was “basically making sure that there we’ve got it in the charter that the city has to … if the city’s gonna do something that’s going to materially affect the ETJ, there’s at least a statement published” explaining impact and outreach plans. City staff (Trista) confirmed that the commission could recommend council adopt a policy and that staff would prepare the supporting materials if council requested them.

The commission ultimately approved a motion to forward a recommendation to City Council urging the development of an official policy and procedures for contacting affected ETJ landowners when infrastructure projects will affect their properties. The motion carried by voice vote and will be transmitted to the city attorney for drafting before returning to the commission for review.