BUDA — After years of debate and discussions, Buda City Council unanimously approved the annexation of 762.244 acres into the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), relating to the MileStone Community Builders’ Persimmon Development, on first and final reading at its June 18 meeting.
Afterwards, council approved the development agreement (DA) and the annexation of the 762.244 acres. It passed 5-1, with council member Terry Cummings dissenting.
Council member Monica Davidson expressed her gratitude for the work that council and staff put into the project, stating it was a “David and Goliath story.”
Language in the DA anticipates a Public Improvement District (PID) and a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) with both the city and Hays County to help fund larger public improvement projects, which will help support the Persimmon development and regional transportation improvements. The city of Buda and Hays County will each contribute 50% of the incremental revenue granted over the baseline year established at the time the TIRZ is created.
The following are several of the terms agreed upon for the DA at the Oct. 17, 2023, city council meeting:
• Substantial regional transportation improvements, such as right-of-way reserved for future SH-45 extension
• Installation of trails along Garlic Creek and other greenbelts
• 40 acres dedicated for nonresidential uses
• Donation of 3.5 acres for a fire/emergency services site
• Reservation of 15 acres for other future public facilities
• Dedication of a well site for construction of an aquifer storage and recovery well
• Maximum of 2,300 residential units
• No apartments or multi-family units
• The developer shall preserve as many trees as possible The approval of the Persimmon project has undergone several discussions and negotiations between the city of Buda and the developer.
On Aug. 9, 2023, during ongoing negotiations of the DA, the city of Buda received notice that the landowners submitted a petition to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to create a Municipal Utility District (MUD) for the Persimmon project. This would make the project a subdivision of the state with separate taxing authority and allow the developers to finance the project without assistance from the city of Buda or other cities. Under this option, the developer would not be subject to any oversight or regulations of the city and the negotiated transportation improvements would not be constructed.
Then, during the Sept. 20, 2023, meeting, Buda City Council voted to contest MileStone’s petition to the TCEQ for the formation of the MUD. With the approval of the DA during the June 18, 2024, meeting, MileStone agreed to not advance its MUD petition to the TCEQ and withdraw the petition once the PID is created and bonds are issued.
“This has been a really tough decision,” explained council member Paul Daugereau. “For the ones who haven’t been paying attention and need to vent after this is over, just make sure that it’s going the right direction. Your council has worked its best, your staff has spent countless, countless, countless hours negotiating this. Vent toward your state leaders.”
“Our job here on council is to do the best we can for the city of Buda and our residents. This process has been long and it’s taken many years. We have done, I feel, the best we can to set the groundwork for what’s going to happen on these 775 acres on the corner of 967. I believe we have worked years on this project working to make it the best that we can make it,” said Mayor Lee Urbanovsky.
According to the city, the next steps for the Persimmon project and Buda City Council include the council’s approval of a PID, the creation of a TIRZ with Hays County, full annexation and the issuance of PID bonds.
Buda City Council will meet next on July 2.
For additional information regarding the Persimmon project or other developments within the city of Buda or ETJ, visit www.budatx.gov/DevelopmentServices.
