Two tracts of land near the Taylor Municipal Airport, once off-limits for large-scale development, will soon be home to industrial warehouses, housing and retail thanks to a City Council vote Aug. 11.
One of the tracts was sold by family members of Mayor Brandt Rydell to a developer. Both parcels are not far from a Samsung Austin Semiconductor plant now under construction.
The reclassification of the land involved in the two development deals comes at a time other landowners annexed by Taylor many years before or in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city are finding themselves locked out of the prosperity coming with the Samsung foundry development because they are too far from city services.
Bill Albert, who wants to sell 49 acres he has owned for 20 years on the north side of U.S. 79, said he had multiple offers on the property after Samsung’s announcement — including one for more than $10 million from a Samsung supplier.
When the restricted areas were designated, Albert said the deal was put on hold.
Neighbors also in the restricted area tell him that collectively they have been bypassed for about $1.5 billion in possible land sales.
“The last thing buyers want to see on a property is ‘restricted growth.’ So, they just go looking in Hutto or Round Rock,” Albert said.
Other landowners are now awaiting an Aug. 25 council meeting where a representative of the consulting group that did the city’s Comprehensive Plan — which was adopted before the Samsung announcement of its pending $17 billion fabrication plant — and the revised version this spring will address the council about possibly revisiting some of the restricted areas.
As part of the city’s Comprehensive Development Plan, land in Taylor’s city limits and extraterritorial jurisdiction has been divided into two categories to manage the growth that comes with the advent of the massive Samsung chip plant.
The first is a “restricted growth sector,” mostly agricultural property with a single homestead and limited availability of infrastructure such as water. The city deems it as costly to extend those services needed for higher-density business or residential growth.
The second category is the “intended growth sector,” which are considered underutilized properties adjacent to existing city utilities.
Landowners in the second category have already hit the jackpot selling to or in negotiations with developers or corporations providing goods or services to Samsung.
he semiconductor manufacturer is building out the first $17 billion phase of its new fabrication plant and has announced the possibility of growing that to 10 fabrication plants and $200 billion over the next two decades.
The council on Thursday night gave its approval, 3-1, for amending the designations on the two properties near the Taylor Municipal Airport so they could be part of the “intended growth sector” and be developed.
The property owned by the mayor’s family was purchased in May by a developer
Rydell did not vote on the motions because he was out of state on personal business. The meeting was led by Mayor Pro-tem Gerald Anderson.
A dissenting vote came from At-large Councilman Dwayne Ariola, who asked for the two items to be pulled from the consent agenda of usually noncontroversial topics for discussion and separate votes.
In an interview Friday morning, Ariola said he is in general agreement with a comprehensive plan to control the growth in and around Taylor, but thinks the “restricted” designation goes too far.
“I’m on board, but we just have to play fair,” Ariola said. “The verbiage, in my opinion doesn’t cover it.”
He thinks if the word “restricted” was removed it might not scare off possible buyers off so quickly.
The two properties granted amendments included 75 acres west of the airport purchased by Taylor Texas Holdings Inc. in 2008, according to Williamson County Appraisal District Records. They also are listed as the developers in filings with the city
The other was for 61.5 acres of land removed from growth restrictions north and west of the airport and was a long-time holding of the Rydell family left to sisters Faye and Darlene Rydell, the latter the mother of Mayor Rydell.
The land was purchased this spring by developer Sudhakar Tadiboyina and his Taylor Heights LLC. He also is behind several other projects including Liberty Hill Ventures and Del Valle Ventures.
About 80 acres in total sold to Taylor Heights LLC for nearly $8.1 million, according to a source in the real estate industry and data from the Multiple Listing Service.
The land will be used for residential and neighborhood services classified as “Neighborhood Greenfield” to become “an extension of the existing urban fabric in Taylor,” according to city documents.
It also will be designated as a “Market Center” with an anchoring retail destination and mixed-use development. The third classification is for “Employment Center: Community,” which are mixed-use areas around office or industrial spaces that “support significant employment.”
E-mail communications, provided to city staff, between an engineering consultant and the developer nearly two months before the sale was finalized, show that the property could be viable for development with an investment by the developer of $420,000 for a wastewater line connecting the property to an existing wastewater line that extended to the airport.
The catch was that there might be some city upgrades needed to improve the wastewater lift station at the airport in order to increase capacity.
Tom Yantis, assistant city manager and director of Development Services, told council members that HDR, an engineering firm contracted with the city, took another look at the capacity of the lift station through computer models and determined that it could handle more capacity with some improvements.
Areas around it were initially put in restricted growth zones because the lift station was inundated with stormwater during major rain events, Yantis said. The proposed budget for the next fiscal year contains funding to fix the drainage problem near the lift station and replace one of more of the pumps.
While social media has been abuzz with accusations about special treatment for some, there were no residents signed up to make comments at the beginning of the council meeting.
As an opponent of the land designations as they are written, Ariola said there wasn’t anything illegal that took place in the land deals even with connections to City Hall.
“That land was for sale and has been for on sale forever. It was not secret,” Ariola said. “The mayor has the utmost integrity.”
In an email response to questions about the amendments to the land use zones, Rydell referred to Yantis’ explanation of the lift-capacity changes. He did not comment on public perception of the moves or the land deal.
Yantis told council that there are several property owners now talking to city staff about going through the amendment process to see if they can get their land out of the restricted growth zones. Staff assesses the requests and then they go to the Planning & Zoning Commission and to council for final approval.
In Albert’s case, he said he asked three times how much it would cost to get a sewer line to his property so he could decide if he could fund a portion of it so his land could be developed, but he hasn’t had a response.
He said he has not filed for the amendment process.
Albert said his property was annexed about three years after he bought it, but 17 years later he still doesn’t have city services. He has water from the Jonah Water Special Utility District and electric, but no wastewater or other city services from Taylor.
“They ignore that. They sweep it under the rug,” he said.
