Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Muds And Development Agreements topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Developers detail MUD plan and sewer capacity; council tables development ordinances
Summary
Developers described plans to bring property into the city’s ETJ via MUD petitions, explained that municipal consent enables voluntary future annexation, and outlined sewer infrastructure capacity; council tabled several development agreement ordinances pending further review and legal counsel.
Developers and their legal counsel told the Blue Ridge City Council that petitions have been submitted to bring property into municipal utility districts (MUDs) and that development agreements would give the city an option — but not an obligation — to annex in the future.
"We're building a plant there that will eventually serve about 15,000," said Steve Jean, who introduced himself as one of the development partners and described prior MUD work and infrastructure investments. Jean told the council the development agreement is intended to provide the city the option to annex at a later date and to align the new tract with other properties already in the city's ETJ.
Josh Bethke, identified in the meeting as legal counsel for the MUDs, told the council that municipal consent is required before property in a municipality's ETJ can be included in a MUD and stressed that "Texas does not allow for involuntary annexation by municipalities anymore," explaining why voluntary mechanisms and development agreements matter for future municipal planning.
Council members raised concerns during questioning about contract language permitting assignment by owners without the city's consent. Multiple ordinance and resolution items tied to the developments (including ordinance numbers that were read into the record) were moved to the table so the city attorney could review the documents and so council members could gather more information.
The council called and passed motions to table several items (items 9–14) related to development agreements; staff and developers agreed to return with legal counsel and more detail.
