Liberty Hill council adopts revised Planning & Zoning bylaws after executive session

The Liberty Hill City Council voted 6-0 to approve updated bylaws for the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission after discussions in open session and legal consultation in an executive session.

Deputy City Manager Brandon Pritchett presented the proposed revisions and explained the changes were intended to align bylaws with current state law and the city’s ordinances. "I support the membership of it being inside the city limits because that is the best practice," Pritchett said during discussion, noting state law and home-rule changes affected how the commission’s roles are described.

The vote followed public comments from planning-and-zoning chair Carlyn Keller, who asked the council to return the proposed bylaws to the commission for input, asked that joint meeting minutes be re-evaluated for accuracy and urged staff to help establish clearer governance and training for volunteers. "I'm asking that you return the proposed bylaws for the planning and zoning to provide input," Keller said during the public-comment period.

Councilmembers debated several policy choices: whether commissioners must live within city limits or may come from the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) or school-district boundaries; whether certain advisory duties or development-agreement reviews belong in bylaws or in ordinance; and who should select the commission chair. Several councilmembers said they wanted P&Z involved in the discussion because volunteers and commission members should have a chance to weigh in.

After reconvening from executive session, Pritchett proposed two targeted edits the council accepted: removing a clause that the city council select the P&Z chair and revising a clause requiring council approval of commission-proposed bylaw amendments so that amendments instead must be presented to the council at its next meeting. "The commission’s proposed amendments to the bylaws must be presented to the city council at the next meeting," the revised language states as adopted.

Councilmember motion and vote: The motion to approve the bylaws with the two changes was made by Deputy City Manager Brandon Pritchett and seconded by a councilmember; the council approved it unanimously, 6-0.

Why it matters: The changes clarify the relationship between council, staff and the Planning & Zoning Commission and aim to reduce conflicts arising from outdated or duplicative language. The revisions also attempt to preserve the commission’s advisory role while aligning municipal procedures with state law.

What’s next: Staff will implement the bylaw language adopted by council and bring any required ordinance changes back for future council consideration; Planning & Zoning will have an opportunity to review and respond under the new presentation requirement.