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County group favors coordinated comprehensive plan, ETJ talks and lot-size review to guide growth
Summary
Task-force members recommended combining countywide comprehensive planning with city–county ETJ conversations and reviewing lot-size and variance rules (example: dropping minimum ag lot from 10 to 5 acres) to guide where growth should occur and to reduce costly variances.
Participants discussed using the county comprehensive plan to identify where municipalities should expect growth and where the county should discourage dense subdivision. Several members said aligning a county plan with municipal plans and ETJ (extraterritorial jurisdiction) agreements would make utility and infrastructure planning easier for both the county and the city.
On lot-size policy, speakers cited a real example: lowering a minimum agricultural lot size from 10 to 5 acres could enable residential infill that produces higher long-term tax revenue than some agricultural operations. One participant recommended adjusting ordinances rather than relying on repeated variances, noting frequent variances in the past increased legal risk and uncertainty for applicants.
Members proposed targeted, place-based approaches: encourage higher-value residential development near municipal edges where annexation or utility extension is feasible, and discourage scattered rural subdivision that burdens county infrastructure. They asked staff to add ETJ coordination as a topic in the county comprehensive plan and to prepare comparative lot-size and variance data for surrounding counties.
Next steps: staff will include ETJ and lot-size comparison material in the packet for the next meeting and explore joint city–county sessions on areas targeted for growth.
