City Attorney Laura Mueller and the developers, Meritage Homes, presented the plan during the Aug. 3 Dripping Springs City Council meeting, though council postponed voting on different elements of the plan that will require the city’s approval.
“This group has been very good to work with,” Mayor Bill Foulds Jr. said at the meeting. “You should be commended. Thank you very much. We didn’t all get what we wanted but we got a very good project out of it.”
Mueller said she worked with engineering firm Doucet and Associates to expand lot sizes for a lower density in the proposed neighborhood called Wild Ridge, where lots would range from 40 to 60 feet wide and sit northeast of downtown. The city also negotiated for Wild Ridge to operate in Dripping Springs’ first in-city Municipal Utilities District rather than an out-of-city MUD, which was originally planned when development planning began in 2019.
Representatives from Doucet and Associates said the project should generate $683,000 in annual property tax for the city of Dripping Springs.
A new four-lane arterial road will connect the neighborhood to Hwy. 290, developers told council. Developers said eventually they would like for the north road to cross Hwy. 290 and connect to FM 150, as is depicted in the city's Transportation Plan.
The master-planned development will bring with it a commercial tract and amenity hub with proposed architecture and landscape matching the city’s modern Hill Country theme.
Wild Ridge would also include public trails, a playground and a disc golf course with 85 parking spaces.
Meritage Homes will incur about $29.65 million in costs to add roads and utility access. Per the proposed agreement, which is not yet approved by City Council, the city would pay more than $8.2 million for roads and utilities as well.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify the possibility of a new road reaching to FM 150 and Laura Mueller's role.
