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Council presses groundwater and jurisdiction questions on two industrial preliminary plats in ETJ
Summary
Council members questioned groundwater availability, scale and visual impacts of two large industrial preliminary plats in Midland's extraterritorial jurisdiction; staff said groundwater studies were submitted and met state requirements but noted the city lacks zoning authority in the ETJ, so outcomes can be controlled by state rule.
Council members questioned staff and debated two industrial preliminary plats located in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, raising concerns chiefly about groundwater availability, scale and visibility from key corridors.
For a preliminary plat called 1788 Industrial (a replat involving an 8.04-acre tract and a 96.44-acre tract), Planning staff said the developer submitted the state-required groundwater availability study and staff reviewed it as meeting statutory requirements. "Per state law, they were required," Planning and Development Officer Elizabeth Triggs said, and staff confirmed the study "meets the requirements, so they are able to move forward." Several council members nonetheless questioned whether industrial-scale groundwater use on a 96.44-acre industrial park could be supported, and noted that the property sits in the ETJ where city zoning jurisdiction is limited.
Council members stressed visual and corridor implications for the 191 corridor and the arts district adjacent to the proposed site, and said the city has historically treated ETJ residential plats differently than industrial proposals because water needs differ by use. On both the 1788 Industrial and Shenandoah Industrial Park (a 67.14-acre replat also in the ETJ), the council received staff summaries, asked follow-up questions about groundwater and infrastructure, and ultimately took no action on the items, noting the state law and ETJ controls reduce the city's formal authority to block development in those areas.
Planning staff also noted work under way on overlay zoning for parts of the 191 corridor that fall inside city limits, an effort staff said would be presented to council later to improve design controls for areas within the city's regulatory reach. Council members asked staff to continue to evaluate drainage and water demands as those projects progress.
