(SUGAR LAND) -The Sugar Land City Council recently approved a development agreement with Pulte Homes of Texas, LP, for a proposed development in the city’s Extraterritorial Jurisdiction.
The proposed development is located on several tracts of land totaling about 958 acres and includes property south of FM 2759 and east of FM 762 and a 60-acre tract north of FM 2759. The land is currently located within multiple jurisdictions – including the ETJ within the city of Sugar Land and the town of Thompsons and unincorporated Fort Bend County.
The approved agreement includes a provision requested by the developer to switch from Thompsons to Sugar Land’s ETJ. Extraterritorial jurisdiction is a designated buffer area located just outside of a city’s limits. Texas Local Government Code provides cities with ETJs as a method of defining potential growth and future service boundaries. Texas Legislation established ETJs “to promote and protect the general health, safety and welfare” of people living in or near cities in Texas to create a type of buffer zone outside of a city’s incorporated limits.
State legislators passed Senate Bill 2038 during this year’s 88th Texas Legislature. The bill went into effect on Sept. 1 and expanded property owners' rights within ETJs. The new legislation provides property owners and residents an option to leave a city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction and petition to join another.
The approved agreement between Sugar Land and Pulte Homes of Texas, LP, provides mutual benefit to the developer and the city in areas such as regional utilities planning/implementation in the area south of the Brazos River, extension of city land use and development standards. The planned future extension of the Grand Parkway adjacent to the proposed development also provides the potential to strengthen the local economy.
The agreement addresses future annexation of the area into the Sugar Land’s corporate city limits and identifies services provided prior to annexation at no cost to current Sugar Land residents. The city will provide fee-based services to the proposed development, including water supply and wastewater treatment services, fire services, EMS services, development review and inspections services.
“This development agreement was developed through a series of work sessions and meetings between the developers and representatives of the Public Works, Fire, Police, Engineering, Parks and Recreation, Legal, Budget and Strategy and Planning and Development Services departments,” said Director of Planning and Development Services Lisa Kocich-Meyer. “The agreement outlines how the property will be developed and the commitments and obligations associated with developing the property.
“It establishes and approves a general plan as the initial master plan for the overall development and identifies the proposed land uses for the development including single-family residential; retail; and commercial and office uses such as warehousing/storage with office, independent senior living, medium-density single-family residential and recreational facilities.”
The property for the proposed new development is expected to be added to Sugar Land’s ETJ early next year.
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