Waxahachie council hears hours of public concern over Emery Lakes planned development; public hearing continued

Dozens of residents pressed the Waxahachie City Council on a proposed planned development that would add roughly 200 acres to a previously approved large PD, raising questions about traffic, drainage and vague zoning language.

At a public hearing opened by the council, residents said they are frustrated the land’s existing PD zoning could allow large-scale build-out without further council control. Robert Ferris, who said he lives on FM 875, asked for traffic-impact analysis and said the railroad crossing at the site is already a bottleneck. “Stoplight is not the issue. The issue is the railroad track,” he said, pressing the council to consider how daily train crossings would add to congestion.

Heather Fagan, who said she filed public-record requests about the project, described the PD’s “flex residential” language as ambiguous and warned it could permit high density near existing single-family neighborhoods. “The verbiage is, like, really ambiguous when it’s saying flex residential,” she said, adding that she was uncertain whether lots would be as small as 2,500 square feet and worried about what might be built across from her home.

Other speakers urged the council to require clearer, enforceable standards in the development agreement. One resident alleged a conflict of interest involving a county employee working for the developer and said he had contacted the Texas Ethics Commission; the speaker said the commission told her to notify the city attorney.

Trenton, the city planner, told the council the developer and staff are actively negotiating the PD and the development agreement and that updated documents had been received by staff earlier that afternoon. Council members and staff said those documents would be posted in advance of future hearings and that the continuance would allow additional review. Mayor Billy Wallace and council members repeatedly emphasized that large portions of the land are already zoned and that the council is focused on improving standards in the agreement.

Council moved to continue the public hearing to Nov. 17 so staff and the developer could address outstanding issues, including traffic, drainage, density and specific plan language. No final zoning action occurred at the Nov. 3 meeting.

Next steps: the Planning & Zoning Commission will continue consideration and the city will post revised PD and development agreement materials prior to the next hearings.