RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS
GEORGETOWN — Williamson County Commissioners Court members quietly approved an agreement with developers for the creation of a municipal utility district that could usher in more residential development in north Taylor.
Also during their meeting, county leaders heard concerns about a proposed roadway cutting through a family holding, faced questions about a multimilliondollar allotment but provided few answers and called for a burn ban.
Regarding the MUD, county documents indicate the consent and development with GRBK Edgewood, a limited liability corporation, and limited partnership Rummel & Rohde Farms calls for establishment of the 343-acre North Fork Municipal Utility District in Taylor, at county roads 101 and 369, just south of Chandler Road.
Based in the Dallas suburb of Plano, GRBK is affiliated with Green Brick Partners — a publicly traded company that describes itself as a “diversified homebuilding and land development company that operates in Texas, Georgia and Florida,” according to its website.
“We build quality neighborhoods in some of the best markets in the country, interwoven with the latest technological advancements,” the website for the New York Stock Exchange-traded company reads. “We believe this approach enables us to provide superior value to our customers and the communities in which they live, as well as long-term returns for our investors and stakeholders.”
There was scant discussion on the matter during the Sept. 24 commissioners meeting.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Russ Boles moved to approve 10 agenda items en masse — via the “consent agenda” procedure designed to streamline meetings for routine matters — that included the MUD agreement listed as the 39th agenda item. Precinct 2 Commissioner Cynthia Long seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
According to a county document, the developer “... intends that the land will be developed as a master-planned, residential community that will include park and recreational facilities …” The pact is meant to encourage “innovative and comprehensive master-planning of the land,” while complying with regulatory requirements in creating a “high-quality development.”
Precinct 1 Commissioner Terry Cook was the sole commissioner to comment on the matter before Precinct 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey steered her counterparts to other matters.
“On (item) 39, this is a MUD that we’re under discussion with,” Cook said. “And let me tell you, the MUDs have ringed the county waiting to rush in, but they’ve got to do wastewater,” she added, referring to infrastructure creation for which developers would be responsible.
Cook expressed concern about the specter of bolstered development in an already burgeoning county experiencing growth spurts fueled by an industry influx.
Analysts have cited the development of the $17 billion Samsung Austin Semiconductor fabrication plant in Taylor as one factor, as well as ancillary businesses.
“I’m very concerned about the wastewater, the E. coli coming into our little, tiny streams with all these homes,” Cook said. “So they have to do a very, very good job, and I don’t know who watches them on that.”
Hilary Liston, listed as a contact for GRBK Edgewood, did not immediately return a call for comment from the Taylor Press.
The county agreement has no details about the envisioned residential development, including the number of homes planned for the site. Potentially comparable developments built by Green Brick Partners include Lakeside at Tessera in Lago Vista and Trinity Ranch in Elgin.
Each development features three- and four-bedroom homes with two to 3 1/2 baths. Home sizes for the former development are 1,532 square feet, with the latter featuring a range between 1,200 to 2,697 square feet, according to the company’s website.
Homes at the company’s Elgin development range in price from $257,400 to $389,900.
Particularly comparable to the proposed Taylor development is Trinity Ranch in nearby Elgin, situated on 383 acres — 40 acres more than the proposed Taylor community — with 1,700 homes, according to media reports in 2022 when commissioners revealed the plans.
Trophy Signature Homes was the homebuilder for the Elgin subdivision, according to the Green Brick Partners website.
Rural residents fear roadway incursion
During the “residents to be heard” portion of the meeting meant for residents to address commissioners, a county resident aired concerns over industry-spurred infrastructure plans threatening to split her family’s property in half. Angela Wituski, a board member of Preserve WilCo Now, asked for an update on potential road plans spurred by an industrial influx fueled by development of Samsung. Although initial plans for a six-lane highway bisecting her family’s land have been downsized, she worries about the impact such infrastructure — originally dubbed Corridor K by county officials — might have on her family’s land and the region in general.
'Who watches and observes that our rural areas don’t become obsolete?” she asked commissioners.
Wituski and her family live in Walburg, an unincorporated area located at the crossroads of FM 972 and FM 110.
“Who’s counting — we have this much development, this much industry, we’re making sure we have this much agriculture? While right now maybe our agricultural crops are maybe feed, corn and cotton, at some point we need to make sure we have spaces that provide food for our community,” Wituski said.
Cook suggested it’s not up to the county to decide.
“It’s residents who sell land,” she said. “Developers grab it right up, and we don’t have the authority to say no.”
Precinct 2 Commissioner Cynthia Long echoed the sentiment.
“Local government 101, to Commissioner Cook’s point,” she said. “Cities have the ability to set aside different areas — this is going to be undeveloped, this is going to be green space. Counties have no land zoning, no land control authority. Unless we buy it — which the county has over time through voter-approved bonds purchased green space and parkland.”
Boles assured Wituski road plans are likely years into the future.
“We’re just trying to set a route to get everybody really good notice because we don’t think it’s fair to give you notice a week before we start building it,” he said. “This improvement is years away. I don’t know if that’s two years, four years, 10 years or never. But I’ll say this: I’ve never had anybody come over to my office and say, ‘You built that road too soon,’ if that helps.”
For her part, Covey focused on the project’s downsizing from the design plan’s original iteration. The name of the project has since been changed from Corridor K to Arterial K.
“You mentioned Corridor K,” she told Wituski. “That’s a misnomer; it’s not a corridor. We’re labeling it a corridor, (but) it needs to change to arterial because this is not 150 feet like all of our other corridors. It’s an arterial of 136 feet, six lanes.”
Regardless of its configuration, Wituski suggested the roadway would irrevocably alter her family’s lifestyle. She said her parents have lived on their county spread for 35 years, and she moved next door to them to help tend to the property.
She referred to a comment made the previous week by Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell during a related discussion.
“Last week, Judge Gravell stated that people often come in with opposition but not with solutions,” she said. “I understand our solution is no road, but I also understand there’s a lot more that goes into that.”
As Wituski spoke, Gravell was in South Korea on an economic development trip meant to lure additional foreign investment to the county. Earlier this year, he signed an international economic mutual agreement with the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency — the first such pact for Williamson County.
The $2.5 million mystery
Another resident quizzed commissioners on an item calling for the need of a $2.5 million allotment into the general fund. The item was included as an agenda item without details as to its use.
“You know, I’ve been coming here a while, (and) this is one of the most enigmatic things I’ve ever seen on the agenda — $2.5 million for a grave necessity coming out of an unspecified part of the general budget from an unspecified contingency,” the Georgetown resident said. “Can you please clarify what the $2.5 million is for?”
Covey looked to Hal Hawes, general counsel for Williamson County, seated behind the commissioners’ dais for an answer.
“I advise the court right now not to discuss the future purpose,” Hawes said. “It will be on a future agenda.”
Appealing to the resident, Covey added: “We’re bringing cash out of cash-ending into the budget in order for a future event if we need it. That’s basically all I can tell you because of the complexity of it.”
The resident then asked: “A future event? You mean like an ice storm or something like that?”
Covey: “No, no, no. Like a legal settlement, OK? And that’s all I can speak about it on advice of counsel. I apologize for not being able to talk more about it, but it’s for the best of the county. We will clearly talk about it out loud at a future time, but at this point, I’m limited as to what I can say.”
The funds transfer was unanimously approved. The Press reached out to county spokeswoman Connie Odom for clarification. In an emailed response, she did not divulge specifics but did shed light on the money source.
“The transfer was from cash-ending reserves to contingencies,” she wrote. “Contingencies are used to budget money for unknown emergencies, settlements and cost increases. The estimated cash-ending reserves fund balance is $170.6 million. According to our budget policy, we will always keep 35% of our operating expenses as minimum fund balance, which is $85.2 million.”
Burn ban implemented
Commissioners also issued a county-wide burn ban potentially in place for 90 days, given drought-like conditions. Residents burning any combustible material outside of an enclosure are in violation under the ban, which prohibits the burning of household yard waste such as leaves, grass, brush and other yard trimmings. The ban also prohibits burning to clear land of trees, stumps, shrubbery or other natural vegetation.
Violation is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500.
