Council members discussed the proposed development at an Oct. 15 meeting, and indicated a consensus that city staff should proceed with negotiations with the property owner.
The details
The Colmena Ranch development would span about 2,450 acres, city documents state, which would make it larger than any other existing or planned special district in the city.
An initial land use plan for the site includes nearly 1,400 acres dedicated to single family housing. Other planned uses include amenities, commercial developments and flex use space for land uses such as multifamily housing or office buildings.
The site is divided by the Collin County Outer Loop, which runs through the center of the development.
The site is currently in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, but the property owner is interested in negotiating with city officials regarding annexing the land into city limits and establishing zoning in exchange for the city leaders’ support to create the special district, Executive Director of Development Services Michael Quint said at the meeting.
“We’ve been talking about Colmena Ranch, both internally inside the city and externally with random folks for the better part of two decades, so the fact that we’re here ... talking about it is a big moment,” Quint said.
Diving in deeper
McKinney currently has two special districts, McKinney Municipal Utility Districts No. 1 and No. 2, which encompass the Trinity Falls development. City Council members also recently approved a development agreement for the planned Honey Creek municipal management district, an over 1,600-acre project in north McKinney.
Municipal management districts can be created by an act of the state legislature, as well as by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Quint said, noting that the developers of the project intend to pursue the designation from the state legislature. The municipal management district designation for the Honey Creek development was awarded by the TCEQ.
What they’re saying
The negotiations would allow for the city to execute an agreement that would govern the land uses and development of the property, according to a presentation at the meeting. Quint said the development would be an opportunity to annex land from the city’s exterritorial jurisdiction.
“There are pros and cons,” Quint said of the special district designation. “It’s a good way that we can get annexation, which is critical to us as a staff, us as a community, and so I think it's a good opportunity. Do I like special districts? Not necessarily.”
“We’ve been forced to come to the table with creative tools and whatnot to try to incentivize people to come into the city, because these people, if they don’t come into the city, they will still drive on our roads, they will still go to our parks, they will still go to our libraries, and they just won’t be subsidizing [it], the rest of us will.”
Fuller said he was supportive of city staff pursuing negotiations with the land owner of Colmena Ranch.
“I don’t think we have a choice but to engage in these conversations and try to find a way to bring them into the city,” Fuller said.
Quote of note
“This property, in my opinion, it's the last big tract of land that we have in the city of McKinney,” Franklin said. “It has a major road going through it that’s going to be an eight-lane thoroughfare. I think it’s prudent if we can get it in the city, to go ahead and bring it in ... I would guess [there is] over $1 billion worth of tax base sitting there for the city.”
