Georgetown officials question 475-acre Pinnacle development proposal

Brought forward by Blossoms Development and civil engineering firm Gray Civil, Pinnacle officials are requesting the project be classified as a municipal utility district.

MUDs are used to help a project close financial gaps when a development is planning to exceed minimum city standards and provide robust amenities, according to Georgetown’s MUD policy.

Pinnacle’s development proposal did not comply with some of the city’s MUD policy requirements, and the project’s representatives did not disclose the maximum tax rate it would charge its residents, according to city documents.

Developers also requested to contract with the city for police, solid waste and street maintenance services, which has not been done with any of Georgetown’s prior ETJ MUDs, Assistant City Manager Nick Woolery said.

Explained

Gray Civil CEO Seth Mearig said some of the city’s MUD requirements would be financially challenging for development, such as the rising cost of wastewater impact fees coupled with the city’s master development fee.

Impact fees are charges imposed by a political subdivision against new development to help generate revenue to recoup the costs of capital improvements, according to local government code. Woolery said master development fees support the impact ETJ projects have on city limits.

“In terms of paying both a master development fee in the ETJ plus the new impact fees, I think the combination is getting out of the realm of what it will actually cost to serve development given its proximity to the wastewater plant,” Mearig said.

What they’re saying

Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Pitts said despite the development being in the ETJ, people who live at Pinnacle would wrongly consider themselves Georgetown residents.

“They're going to play here and spend money here, but they [aren’t actually citizens], meaning they don't actually pay property taxes,” Pitts said. “The way we recoup that is the master development fee. Otherwise, it's all on the back of our citizens that currently are residing here.”

Ryan Blair with landscaping consultant TBG Partners said Pinnacle would be a walkable community with parks, amenity centers and extended trails into Berry Springs Park. Blair said the development would incorporate “softer” materials through Texana Farmhouse-style homes.

With a career in architecture, District 2 council member Shawn Hood said he got excited about the Texana Farmhouse collection because the city doesn’t currently offer anything like it.

“I like everything about it, so it's really difficult for me to say I can't put this good development opportunity on the backs of our existing citizens,” Hood said.

If the proposal returns to council, Hood asked Mearig to include a listing of lot sizes within the neighborhood.

Going forward

Since 2023, Senate Bill 2038 has allowed landowners to leave—or deannex from—a city’s ETJ through petition or election, Community Impact previously reported.

Mearig said if council members don’t consent to the MUD, the most common solution for developers is to remove the tract of land from the city’s ETJ and form the special district legislatively or through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

A portion of the tract already has MUD consent from Weir and could proceed with forming a MUD on that portion of the development, Mearig said.

“I think everybody likes your project, loves your land plan, loves your architectural styles,” Mayor Josh Schroeder said. “If financially, it makes more sense for you guys to go off on your own, we'll wish you well and hope you end up with a great project.”