A new state law going into effect in September could largely impact the ability of cities to expand and regulate the land neighboring their city limits.
Local leaders have expressed concerns that a lack of city control might negatively impact development and place more weight on the county.
Zooming out
Senate Bill 2038, which passed in May, allows residents of an extraterritorial jurisdiction to leave the city’s ETJ through a petition or election. The law also revokes previous state law which allowed a city’s ETJ to naturally expand as the city annexed new territories.
Bennett Sandlin, executive director of the Texas Municipal League, said ETJs allow cities to regulate the following outside of city limits:
- Development standards
- Subdivisions
- Billboards
- Nuances, noise and odors
“The purpose is to get people out of what effectively is no representation,” Bettencourt said.
The outlook
Leaders in Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park and Williamson County expressed concern about the following:
- Long-term impact on ability for cities to grow
- Future requirements of the county to provide emergency and law enforcement services
- Unregulated growth
- The ability for cities to plan for and deliver utilities
- Challenges for future residents in the ETJ wishing to annex into cities
Williamson County Precinct 2 Commissioner Cynthia Long said she’s concerned about the county’s ability to take over platting, law enforcement and emergency services for new areas.
“We will end up having to take over, and we don’t currently have the staff, so we’ll have to increase our staff, and it’ll drive county costs up,” Long said.
Georgetown Mayor Josh Schroeder said unregulated development could mean that an area that would usually allow for 300 mobile homes under the city could be built up to 1,000 units.
“I think it’s going to just allow for unregulated, very fast-paced growth,” Schroeder said. “It’s a huge impact.”
The new law could also affect cities’ ability to plan for and deliver utilities. Georgetown is required to provide water to all residents in its water service area, but other services such as police presence are determined by development agreements for individual projects. Schroeder said Georgetown would not continue to provide some of these services to residents who leave their ETJ, while Round Rock Mayor Craig Morgan said he would be hesitant to do so for any new developments outside of the ETJ.
Cedar Park Mayor Jim Penniman-Morin said he is less worried about the law’s effect on the city’s smaller ETJ, however the law could present a challenge for future residents, he said.
“If your neighbors deannex in a way that you are no longer contiguous with the city, your neighbors may have prevented you from ever being annexed. That may have an impact on the options for that land in the future,” Penniman-Morin said.
What’s next
As city and county leaders remain uncertain of what the bill’s full impact will be, Bettencourt said the state Legislature would be keeping an eye on the bill’s implications once it goes in September.
Beyond boundaries
Many cities in the greater Austin area have extraterritorial jurisdictions, or areas outside of official city limits they have control over.
Georgetown
- Population: unknown, but includes several large neighborhoods
- Size: 77,075.2 acres
- Population: 60,994
- Size: 18,451.86 acres
- Population: 20,116
- Size: 4,881.82 acres
