Updated Jan. 10 at 8:09 p.m.
Georgetown City Council unanimously approved the second reading of an ordinance to rezone 10.058 acres located at 555 Rabbit Hill Road from agriculture to business park district at Tuesday night's meeting.

Following the Dec. 13 meeting where several council members expressed concern for public input and safety, an Enterprise representative returned to present a rendering of the project and addressed monitoring and safety concerns. The representative also said he spoke with business owners and citizens who shared concern at the last meeting. Once the station is built, Enterprise will have a local representative available and 24-hour monitoring of the site from a Houston-based control room.

Georgetown City Council gives initial approval on rezoning request for crude oil pump station
Posted Dec. 13 at 8:30 p.m.
Georgetown City Council unanimously approved the first reading of a request from Enterprise Products Partners to rezone approximately 10 acres at 555 Rabbit Hill Road from agriculture district to business park district at Tuesday night's meeting.

The 2-acre property is proposed to be used for a crude oil pipeline pump station, and the remaining property would include commercial development, Georgetown Planning Director Sofia Nelson said.

Council delayed the rezoning request at its Nov. 22 meeting by unanimous vote after a representative from Enterprise could not adequately answer council member's questions related to safety, noise concerns and state regulations.

At the Dec. 13 meeting, Enterprise Executive Vice President Graham Bacon returned to address questions the council presented at the Nov. 22 meeting.

Bacon said the pump station is necessary to move products safely and efficiently down the pipeline and that the station would abide by the city's noise ordinance of 56 decibels.

The pump station would use $200,000-$300,000 worth of city electricity and incur annual property taxes of over $96,000, as well as a one-time sales use of about $240,000 and over $1 million in property taxes to Williamson County, Bacon said.

After Bacon's presentation, council members still had several questions concerning public involvement and Enterprise's previous work with pipelines and pump stations.

Bacon said at the moment there is no formal process for public involvement, but he confirmed Enterprise would be willing to work with the public.

The proposed pipeline will have six pump stations in total across the state.

Several citizens expressed environmental and safety concerns over the pump station.

Under both agriculture and business park zoning designations Enterprise would be allowed to build the pump station, Mayor Dale Ross said.

Business park designation requires property owners to adhere to certain city ordinances including noise level restrictions and landscaping whereas the current zoning designation of agriculture still allows for the station to be built without those restrictions.

Council Member Anna Eby requested that city staff review current zoning requirements to ensure future zoning decisions focus on land use instead of specific projects.