Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Developers present 261-home Rizewell plan; council and residents demand traffic, drainage and MUD answers
Summary
Rizewell Group presented a three-phase, roughly 250—270-home plan for ~111 acres in Manvel that has prompted sustained council and public concern about lot sizes, traffic impacts on Lewis/Cemetery/1128, drainage risks and proposed MUD financing; council asked for traffic and drainage studies before any rezoning.
Rizewell Group representatives told the Manvel City Council at a July workshop that they are proposing a phased residential development on roughly 111 acres owned by the Lowe and Peters families and would build 250—270 single-family homes. Dan Whitson, Rizewell's presenter, said the plan currently averages about 8,000 square-foot lots, with the smallest roughly 7,200 square feet and about 20% of lots exceeding 10,000 square feet.
The developer said a municipal utility district (MUD) underwrote the project estimate: about $125 million in taxable value that could support roughly $9.5—$10 million in MUD debt and generate approximately $650,000 a year in ad valorem revenue to the city. "We underwrote it using the current tax rate," Whitson said when asked whether the MUD would increase tax rates.
Why it matters: residents and several council members said the project conflicts with the area's existing one-acre zoning and warned that adding hundreds of lots could worsen flooding, congest narrow local roads and erode community character. "The residents loud and clear are saying they want one home per one acre," the Mayor said during the discussion, echoing multiple public comments.
Council members pressed the applicant on three technical points before any rezoning or public cooperation: a traffic impact analysis for Lewis Lane/Cemetery Road and State Highway 1128, a drainage study addressing recent local flooding, and clear MUD financing details. City staff and the developer said traffic counts had been collected and that preliminary drainage exhibits show opportunities to engineer a central detention and conveyance system, but several council members said the studies were not yet complete.
Public comment at the workshop was heavily opposed. Neighbors cited frequent standing water near property lines, narrow residential streets not built for added peak flows, and long-standing one-acre expectations. "We bought into a promise, which was the zoning of one home per one acre," Pastor Tim Bliston said; other speakers asked the council to require a revised plan that preserves the rural character and avoids small, cookie-cutter lots.
Where it goes from here: the council did not vote on the project; several members indicated they were willing to let the developer proceed to more detailed studies but not to consent to rezoning without the traffic and drainage analyses and clearer MUD terms. City staff outlined the standard review path: a rezoning application (PUD or straight single-family rezoning), a planning commission recommendation, and then council action. The developers said they will consider the feedback and may return with an updated plan and the requested technical analyses.
The workshop transcript shows the project remains at an early predevelopment stage with public opposition centered on lot size, drainage and traffic; next steps are formal technical studies and, if pursued, a rezoning application processed through the planning commission and public hearings.
