BUDA — The Greater Buda Chamber of Commerce hosted the city of Buda State of the Community on Sept. 11 to convey the future of the city, as well as its achievements, to local business owners and officials.

Mayor Lee Urbanovsky took to the stage to begin a presentation on several city aspects.

First, he focused on the new growth within the city, stating that there has been 2.4 million square feet of commercial space added to Buda since 2022, with nearly a million of it being warehouse space, providing businesses a space to get started and add jobs for those within the city.

One company Urbanovsky mentioned that is coming to the city is Krannich Solar, a wholesaler of photovoltaic supplies and systems. It is planned to be housed in the Sunfield 35 development, which is moving forward following Buda City Council releasing 695.648 acres of undeveloped land from the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) for it in June 2024.

Many of these businesses within the area are thriving, explained the mayor, who then provided the example of Birria Queen, Donelle Mendoza. The small business owner began in 2018 by selling the flavorful food on the weekends until she crafted birria seasoning bombs, which led to her winning the grand prize in the H-E-B Quest for Texas Best competition. Now, her product can be found in select stores within the Austin area and will hit H-E-B shelves at the end of the year.

The reason, Urbanovsky said, these businesses can have the successful start they do is because of the ability the city has to give incentives. Since 2023, there have been $283,389 in incentives for small businesses and $2.75 million for large businesses.

Another aspect that the city is improving for business owners is the wait time for permit reviews.

“In 2022, it took, on average, 40 days to complete the permit. [Now, in] 2024, that average is down to 23 days,” said Urbanovsky. “I’m proud that we’re able to complete these reviews quickly … We [want] to provide outstanding customer service … I am very proud that it’s something that our team has taken to market.”

Regarding tourism, the mayor stated that the nine hotels within the city generated 156,000 motel days, equating to 428 each day, generating $1.5 million in 2023. These visitors are not only visiting restaurants and shops, but also attending local events, such as Red, White and Buda and the Wiener Dog Races, which had 12,000 and 10,000 attendees, respectively.

With the growth and success of the city, there are also challenges, said the mayor. A looming issue that city officials have dealt with is the passing of Senate Bill 2038, which provides property owners with a mechanism to disannex their land from a city’s ETJ. Urbanovsky noted that Texas has many laws like these, which favor developers rather than the cities.

He also posed a response to a question that he often gets asked: Why does the city approve these projects?

The mayor explained that not every project comes in front of city council, stating that if the following is true, council has no say in the development:

• The land is already within city limits.

• The land is zoned properly.

• There are no variances needed.

An example he mentioned is the controversial Persimmon Development. This project, without city intervention, would have had multifamily units, heavy industrial buildings, no new roadways and no zoning regulations, all of which have been amended since Buda began negotiations with the project leaders.

There are several facilities and projects coming to Buda in the future:

• 24 Belly Professional Business Park, which will be 66,000 square feet and located across from Elm Grove Elementary School

• North Forest Office Space, which will be 30,000 square feet

• Corner on Main, which is a retail area

• A new annual event this fall A $6.6 million update to the sportsplex is also underway with completion a date for 2025-26, along with updates to Garison Park from the 2021 bond, which will include a swimming area, natural play area, bird watching spots and more, and the beginnings of the Eastside Park.

“We strive to serve the city everyday selflessly the best we can,” concluded Urbanovsky.

Next, several questions were asked to a panel of local officials, consisting of Hays County commissioners Walt Smith and Michelle Cohen, Buda City Manager Micah Grau, Hays CISD Superintendent Dr.

Eric Wright and Buda Economic Development Corporation Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Storm.

The questions were submitted by attendees of the event. The first questioned why the city is approving projects when “we don’t have enough water.”

Grau began his answer by stating that the water issue is not isolated to Buda, or even Central Texas, but that it is an issue that the state overall needs to make a change to find a solution. He continued by mentioning the city’s Water Master Plan, which includes the fact that the city has ample water for at least the next 20 years.

In order to continue to have this water, the city is actively working on diversifying its water sources.

“The question is not do we have enough water.

From our city planning perspective, for our city limits and building out that city limit, we do have enough water. Are we going to withstand a 50 million gallon per day microchip facility? No, but that’s not really what we’re looking for either,” said Grau.

Wright replied to a concern of overcrowding within the school district. He noted that there is a 10-year plan to address this. Specifically, there are projections of the student population, which have been extremely accurate, said the superintendent, to aid in updating the projects as needed and keep up with growth.

With the opening of Jim Cullen Elementary School this year and another elementary school in 2025, they will begin looking at additional middle and high schools as the county’s population is predicted to double within the next 10 years.

The district is also constantly buying land for future school sites and there will be another “package” planned to come forward in May for more projects, but he stressed that this will not increase the school tax rate.

As Buda continues to grow, Storm answered that the businesses that the city wants to attract are first and foremost the businesses that already reside here. She stressed that cultivating a positive environment for business owners is what keeps them here and, in return, keeps bringing visitors to their town.

Storm continued by stating that the Buda EDC is aware of the niche of Buda and works hard to meet the standards that they have set.

Finally, both commissioners discussed the upcoming $440 million road bond that will be on the November election, as well as announced that a professional baseball team is eyeing Hays County, and more specifically Buda, for its home.

For more information on the Greater Buda Chamber of Commerce, visit www. budachambertx.com.