The gist
City staff presented the council June 27 with plans for a new MUD being proposed to spur the development of Lakeside Estates, a project by land development company Zovest. The developer is also requesting a temporary no-discharge wastewater package plant for the site, which would come offline once infrastructure for the district is complete and the development could connect to the city’s wastewater system.
Terms to know
Municipal utility districts, or MUDs, are government entities that can provide a variety of essential utility services and infrastructure. They can be formed through the Texas Legislature or by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. If a proposed site is within a city’s jurisdiction, the city must authorize the creation of the MUD. However, if a city does not give its consent within 90 days, state statute allows the property owners 120 days to work directly with utility providers to establish the MUD.
The outlook
The site being proposed spans 722 acres in the western portion of Williamson County. The land sits between the ongoing Santa Rita Ranch development and Lake Georgetown, roughly 4 to 5 miles west of I-35. Other aspects of the project include:
- 15 acres for a hotel and resort
- 34 acres of park land
- 4.7 acres for an amenity center
- 1,500 single-family units
“I would support an ETJ MUD under the current terms as presented,” District 1 Council Member Amanda Parr said. “Obviously, there’s a lot of details that we don’t have yet, but with the current legislation issues that we have, I think getting an ETJ MUD is better than not doing any type of plan for this area.”
