Land is mostly agricultural

Leander is on pace to become 1,289 acres larger if the city's single-biggest involuntary annexation succeeds.

Nine tracts of land, mostly along Ronald Reagan Boulevard and Toll 183A, will be absorbed into Leander's city limits if the involuntary annexation is approved—even if the property owners did not formally seek annexation.

Leander City Council voted Oct. 18 to begin the annexation process, which requires public hearings Nov. 29 and Dec. 6 before two final readings in January.

This mass involuntary annexation is not an attempt to immediately increase the city's tax roll, Leander City Manager Kent Cagle said, but is instead intended as a proactive measure.

"Much of this land is ripe for development, and we want to help fuel that development," he said. "Something inside of 24 months, I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing some development in those areas—not all, but some."

There are relatively few homes—33, and some not necessarily occupied—being added to the city's count, Cagle said. Some of the property owners were even likely to seek annexation at some point anyway, he said.

In fact, up to 85 percent of the properties being annexed are classified for agricultural use, Cagle said. That means the city will collect a discounted tax rate based on the farmer's or rancher's production value rather than property value. If the land use ever shifts from agriculture, the owners will then be taxed based on property value.

Surveys from farmers and ranchers as well as an independent agriculture board help determine agriculture valuation, said Alvin Lankford, chief appraiser for the Williamson Central Appraisal District.

"It's such a drastic reduction from full market value that it acts almost like an exemption because there's a large portion they're not paying taxes on," he said.

Coldwell Banker Commercial Broker Jerel Choate represents the Montgomery tract being forcefully annexed along CR 179. He said he remembers 15 to 20 years ago when the region was ideal for dove hunting.

With the new Stiles Middle School located across the street and development interest booming on Leander's west side, the annexation was inevitable, he said.

"The annexation will bring utilities, and some of those areas don't have the wastewater and water out there yet," Choate said. "Once you get that out there, that does make it ideal for developers to come in."

So far, Choate said he has heard no grumblings about the involuntary annexation from anyone, including his client. State law allows up to 10 percent of any municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ, the area immediately outside city limits that has been marked for future growth—to be involuntarily annexed annually, Leander Mayor Chris Fielder said.

However, during the height of the financial crisis from 2007 to 2011, the city got behind on its annexation schedule, he said.

"Now that the demand is starting to pick up and activity is happening again, we need to get back on schedule," Fielder said.

Future bright for Ronald Reagan Boulevard corridor

Much of that recent demand is concentrated near Ronald Reagan Boulevard, where land along the road has been annexed, but many nearby areas remain part of the city's ETJ—preventing Leander from enforcing city code on any new development. Other voluntary annexations near the thoroughfare were approved this year to make way for residential subdivisions and a possible second H-E-B grocery store.

While the involuntary annexations may not immediately provide a boost to the city's property tax collections, the benefit will be long-term, Fielder said. That includes bringing utilities to undeveloped areas, making them more attractive for growth.

"If somebody like a Sam's [Club] or a big, big chain like Walmart, for instance, wanted to come to Leander, that is probably the area where they would be looking," he said.

But before more big-box chains relocate to that part of Leander, more residential development is needed to create the demand, said Joseph Green, president of the Reagan Parmer Corridor Association. Green co-founded the group in 2007 to help nearby residents work with the city to attract development to the corridor.

If Leander hopes to attract big-name employers, the city has to be proactive to prevent blighted or unsightly properties, he said.

"In order to help attract commercial development, you have to get more residential development first," Green said. "Most people don't want to see [blighted properties] on their way to and from other areas, so that tends to push really nice developments away."

More annexations along the Reagan corridor are likely, Fielder said.

"Now that we're in a high-growth mode again," he said, explaining that typically means a 7 percent to 10 percent annual increase in population, "we're going to start doing more annexations to protect ourselves and make sure everything is up to standard."