Contested 775-acre Persimmon development in Buda, Austin grinds to halt

Following almost 10 months of meetings, an hour of discussion Oct. 18 and an executive session, the Buda City Council unanimously voted to table a development agreement between the city and MileStone Community Builders for its 775-acre Persimmon project that spans across the Buda and Austin extraterritorial jurisdictions. The development itself is the coupling of the 349-acre acre Bailey Tract and the 426-acre Armbruster Tract, of which there are just over 200 acres in the city of Austin's ETJ.

The Buda Planning & Zoning Commission unanimously recommended the denial of the agreement in July, as previously reported by Community Impact.

"I think there is still a gap between where our term sheet lies and what we have asked for and where the developer or the development is at this point," Mayor Lee Urbanovsky said. "I don't believe we are ready to accept the current document in front of us."

Prior to the development agreement reaching the dais, the council adopted a term sheet Sept. 20, which outlines priorities and requirements for the development. The top priorities on the term sheet include a geological report on the project's impact to the Edwards Aquifer and the construction of a roundabout on RM 967, both of which must be done by the developer to continue.

Following the Sept. 20 meeting, the City Council adopted a resolution Oct. 11 requesting the city of Austin release its portion of the development for Buda's ETJ to expand over.

The item up for debate Oct. 18 was the development agreement that outlined the proposed plan for the 775 acres, which includes 2,800 residential units, at least 10 acres of commercial space, and financing through the combination of a public improvement district and a tax increment reinvestment zone. There are also land dedications for a Hays CISD school, an emergency services department and more. All water and wastewater services were set to be provided by the city of Buda.

An issue for some council members was the plans for each tract of land did not seem to have equal attention and planning.

"The Bailey Tracts has the streets and lots, and it's very detailed. We got the information on that one," Urbanovsky said. "The other side, ... there's just an unknown that's happening on the other piece of that property that I think, at least from my chair, that has me have reservations as far as proceeding forward without some more information."

With the council tabling the agreement, it is unclear when the item will be back for consideration.