Charting the CHANGE Although the development moratorium is aimed at slowing growth in Dripping Springs, 33 waivers and exemptions have been issued since November, 2021. The project names were provided by the city. Three could not be mapped.
RABBIT RUN
An extraterritorial jurisdiction is an area outside of a city border where the city can exercise some authority. WHAT'S AN ETJ?
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348
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185
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187
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Key
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Development ETJ City of Dripping Springs
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290
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164
Esperanza Gray Fox Court Hardy T North & South Hays Street Headwaters Heritage Subdivision Julep Commercial
1079 Twain St. 210 Creek Road 4400 W. Hwy. 290 449 Twin Oaks 5307 Bell Springs Commercial Arrowhead Ranch Boulevard Big Sky Ranch Black’s Wedding Venue Bunker Ranch* Caliterra Cannon Ranch & Cannon East* Cortaro Driftwood/ Driftwood 522
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DRIPPING SPRINGS POPULATION BOOM
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1826
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2015 ETJ 22,860
2021 ETJ 35,000
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2015 city 2,415
2021 city 4,650
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SOURCE: CITY OF DRIPPING SPRINGS COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Ledgestone New Growth Parten Ranch Parkway Patriot’s Hall Silver Creek Village Grove Wildridge
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In 2020, there were 5,633 housing units in 78620, the ZIP code that cov- ers most of Dripping Springs and its ETJ, and some additional territory. Now, more than 4,000 new homes are in some phase of development throughout Dripping Springs, accord- ing to James. Over the last decade, Dripping Springs’ population within city limits grew by 160% to 4,650, according to census data from 2010 and 2020. The city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ, has close to 35,000 people resid- ing in it, according to the city. The ETJ is territory outside of city boundaries that the city has some control over. The area is a ected by the moratorium. “The rate of exponential growth we see in the Dripping Springs com- munity is a very, very demanding and complex issue,” James said.
releasing it into Onion Creek—but that permit is currently tied up in a lawsuit led by Save Our Springs, an environ- mental protection organization. The city does not plan to discharge it into waterways if the permit is approved, Dripping Springs Commu- nication Manager Lisa Sullivan said. Instead, it has agreements with devel- opers to reuse the water for irrigation. The Caliterra subdivision uses reclaimed water from the city to irrigate and is building elds to add 62,000 gallons of discharge capacity per day, according to the city. “Our vision for Caliterra has always been that this development will respect, embrace and interact with the land and enhance the ecosystem of the Hill Country,” said Greg Rich, president of Allegiant Realty Partners, the developer for Caliterra, in a state- ment. “Dripping Springs is growing,
“Managing that is extremely challeng- ing. It requires resources, money, peo- ple and creative thinking. And it takes a lot of time.” Wastewater woes The Dripping Springs wastewa- ter facility has the potential to treat 500,000 gallons of wastewater; how- ever, the city can only dispose of 187,000 gallons per day through irri- gation elds, Director of Public Works Aaron Reed said. Wastewater treatment is unrelated to drinking water. By the end of 2021, the city was using an average of 170,000 gallons of that capacity each day, according to city data. In 2019, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality granted the city a disposal permit to dis- charge treated wastewater—including
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*WAIVER EXCEPTION WERE GIVEN TO MULTIPLE PHASES OF THE SAME PROJECT
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November, was extended for 90 days. Since its inception, 33 projects comprising dozens of homes have received waivers or exemptions to the moratorium. “The rate of growth has far exceeded our infrastructure in trans- portation and wastewater,” said Plan- ning and Zoning Commission Chair Mim James.
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