What it means
The Cotton Center Development is now released from the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction and wastewater service area.
This means San Marcos will no longer have any say on the project.
Extraterritorial jurisdiction is the unincorporated area around a city where the city can still enforce some regulations, such as subdivisions, to allow for the planning of future growth.
How we got here
The city originally entered into a development and consent agreement for the development in 2016. Council documents show the original agreement between the city and Walton Development was amended in June 2024.
According to city documents, the vote from council was required by a settlement agreement between the city and Walton Development that was reached Sept. 16.
The settlement agreement also requires Walton to pay $280,000 to the city.
Digging deeper
City documents also show that Walton has filed to expedite an amendment to the city’s Sewer Certificate of Convenience and Necessity under the Texas Water Code. The filings were made to the Public Utility Commission of Texas, with the settlement requiring the city to cooperate in filing a Joint Motion for Informal Disposition and any other motion to “effectuate the purposes of this agreement.”
The settlement fully releases the city from all obligations for the development and releases Walton from any obligations to the city for the Cotton Center Development.
