As McKinney reaches its housing capacity south of US 380, attention from the city and developers is turning to the 33,000 acres of largely undeveloped in the land northwest sector. More than 18 months ago the city of McKinney began its Northwest Sector Study with hopes of developing a cohesive land-use plan for development. The plan, which is still in the works, includes green space, infrastructure, commercial developments and a new style of residential development for the city. However, despite McKinney having annexed more than 1,800 acres in the past 5 years, there are still almost 20,000 acres in the northwest sector the city has little control over because it is in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ—land that is still considered unincorporated Collin County until the city annexes it. Developers and landowners are not waiting for the city to annex the land or finish the second phase of its study and are taking advantage of the less restrictive, less expensive county building standards in the meantime. The county is not required to hold landowners to city of McKinney building standards or plans. City leaders are concerned about not having control over development that will most likely be annexed by McKinney at some point in the future. “The issue for us and the other cities [in the county] is this: We are in the fastest-growing county in the nation,” Mayor Brian Loughmiller said. “For Frisco and McKinney, we are the two fastest-growing cities in the county and we have to proactively land-plan. If in that process the county is going to issue permits that run counter to that, the planning really doesn’t matter because whatever has been permitted has potential to be grandfathered in anyway.” Northwest Sector Study Although this 116-square-mile territory—sprinkled with ranches, farmhouses and a small subdivision—is somewhat removed from the city’s more established areas, city officials say developers are anxious to take advantage of the northwest sector’s openness, which will make the area the city’s next big endeavor for expansion. Residents’ desire to keep the sector’s land rustic and a soon-to-be-reached housing capacity south of US 380 have caused the city to focus on the northwest sector, interim City Manager Tom Muehlenbeck said. The city is working on Phase 2 of the study,  which outlines potential infrastructure that does not follow a traditional grid pattern, subdivision ordinances that allow for estate living and rural subdivisions, and development styles that will complement the natural landscape of the city’s remaining open land. “The northwest sector is roughly 30,000 acres,” Planning Manager Jennifer Arnold said. “People hear that and think, ‘That’s a lot of land.’ That’s larger than some cities. That’s huge. You can’t create a one-size-fits-all approach for it. We want to keep the northwest sector beautiful. A lot of times you hear that and it’s lip service. But not this time.” However, any development or permitted development built before annexation cannot be required to adhere to city standards once the land is annexed by the city. The great debate Although the city of McKinney continues to seek voluntary and involuntary land annexations as it further refines its plans for the northwest sector, the county continues to issue building permits in the unincorporated areas of the county, in some cases against what the city would like to see constructed. For example, the city is in litigation over an RV park in the northwest sector that was approved by the county. The problem, city officials said, is that it would be built directly in the center of an area the city has planned for a major commercial development. Such cases have become so common throughout Collin County that 13 local mayors, spearheaded by Loughmiller, sent a letter to the Collin County Commissioners Court this summer asking the court to allow cities within the county to issue building permits to ensure whatever is built in their ETJ will be up to city codes when the land is eventually annexed. The letter cites concerns from cities fearing permits issued by the county may have a detrimental effect because of the limited enforcement of building-, fire- and construction-related codes.[polldaddy poll=9012567] County Judge Keith Self said the right to allow cities more control is outside of the county’s jurisdiction of authority, and the county is concerned about landowners losing their property rights. Self said the cities’ request would essentially extend city limits into the ETJ, and added that the cities would not be collecting taxes or providing services. “They want to control construction,” he said. “It’s four or five times more expensive to build within city limits. The only permits the county does in the unincorporated part of the county is floods, fire codes and septic tanks. Most people are going to build to a building code, but they aren’t held to city inspections.” Self said the county is requesting the opinion of State Attorney General Ken Paxton on how much control cities can have in their ETJ. Until the county receives an opinion from Paxton or a ruling by the state, Self said commissioners will continue to “do what we do and let it play out with the other parties.” “The problem is the fast growth,” Self said. “The cities want to control construction in their ETJs. This is not a county issue. We will continue to do what we need to do. This is between developers and cities. People move to the county for a reason, and the people who want to deal with the city, can. But those who do not want to deal with the city are under the county’s jurisdiction.” Loughmiller said the difference in opinion comes from a 2002 interlocal agreement between McKinney and Collin County and a section of the local government code that uses loose terminology. “We don’t have a problem [with] getting an opinion from the attorney general, but it’s not legally binding,” Loughmiller said. “The other solution [the county has] for us is that the issue needs to be addressed in the Legislature, but [the Legislature is] not going to be back in session again until 2017. We have the ability to reach an agreement and put it in writing according to what we believe the government code says.” Development without city benefit While the city and county continue discussions, developers, such as Castle Hills Inc., are already laying claim to plots in the city’s ETJ in the northwest sector. Trinity Falls, which began development in February 2014, is within a municipal utility district, commonly known as a MUD. Trinity Falls has plans for 4,200 residential units built on a little less than 1,600 acres. “[A] municipal utility district is an area in unincorporated Collin County that they have issued the debt themselves to fund infrastructure,” Muehlenbeck said. “Now, anyone who moves in there will not pay city taxes—they will pay a MUD tax as their city tax. They will pay a county tax, school tax and a Collin College tax. It’s kind of like a city unto itself.” When it comes to annexing Trinity Falls into city limits, Muehlenbeck said it will be several years before McKinney even considers it. “If the city were to annex Trinity Falls, they would have to assume their debt,” he said. “That makes MUDs little islands to themselves for many, many years because the city already has their own debt and doesn’t want to incur any more.”