Smithville planning commission delays vote on comprehensive plan over data questions

The Smithville Planning & Zoning Commission voted unanimously Aug. 4 to postpone a recommendation on the city’s final comprehensive plan after commissioners identified data and annex-related questions they wanted the consultant to verify before sending a recommendation to city council.

Chair Lee Kilgore moved to postpone the final review and adoption of the City of Smithville comprehensive plan and asked Langford Community Management Services to confirm the items raised at the commission meeting on Aug. 4, 2026. Kilgore also recommended the commission request that the mayor file an extension with the Texas General Land Office so the city would not risk losing grant funds while corrections are verified. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.

Commissioners flagged several types of concerns during the meeting: apparent references to Hays County in places where Bastrop County data may be appropriate, misspellings in historical sections, difficulty locating annexes and CIP documents on the project portal, and the need for clearer guidance on which implementation elements should be trigger-based rather than rely solely on straight-line population projections. Langford agreed to confirm whether the Hays/Bastrop reference was a misplaced image or a substantive data error and to supply corrected material prior to a final recommendation.

The commission set a schedule for next steps: commissioners will compile comments and submit them to Langford by Aug. 11, staff will verify the disputed items, and the commission may hold a special meeting the week of Aug. 17–21 if needed. The postponement leaves the plan alive for council action once the commission’s questions are addressed and, if necessary, the mayor’s extension is filed with GLO.