GOVERNMENT New ETJ law lets residents leave city jurisdiction
BEYOND BOUNDARIES Many cities in the Greater Austin area have extraterritorial jurisdictions, or areas outside of o cial city limits they have control over.
City limits
ETJs
GEORGETOWN ETJ population: City does not track yet, but includes several large neighborhoods Size: 77,075.2 acres
BY CHLOE YOUNG
A new state law going into e ect in September could largely impact the ability of cities to expand and regulate the land neighboring their city limits. Local leaders have expressed con- cerns that a lack of city control might negatively impact development and place more weight on the county. Zooming out: Senate Bill 2038, which passed in the state legislature in May, allows residents of an extraterritorial jurisdiction to leave the city’s ETJ through a petition or election. The law also prevents a city’s ETJ from expand- ing as cities annex new territories. Bennett Sandlin, executive director of the Texas Municipal League, said ETJs allow cities to regulate the following outside of city limits: • Development standards • Subdivisions • Billboards • Disturbances, noise and odors Bill author and State Sen. Paul Bet- tencourt said he wanted the bill to be an exit path for Texans in an ETJ who are displeased with regulations from city leaders they can’t vote for. Under the new law, property owners who leave an ETJ would only be subject to county rules or could create their own incorporation. “The purpose is to get people out of what e ectively is no representation,” Bettencourt said.
ROUND ROCK ETJ population: 60,994 Size: 18,451.86 acres
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CEDAR PARK ETJ population: 20,116 Size: 4,881.82 acres SOURCES: CITIES OF CEDAR PARK, GEORGETOWN AND ROUND ROCK COMMUNITY IMPACT
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Georgetown, Cedar Park and Williamson County expressed concern about the following: • Long-term impact on ability for cities to grow • Future requirements of the county to provide emergency and law Long-term impact on Future requirements of
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enforcement services • Unregulated growth • The ability for cities to plan for and deliver utilities • Challenges for future residents in the ETJ wishing to annex into cities In their own words: Williamson County Precinct 2 Commissioner Cynthia Long said she’s concerned about the county’s ability to take over platting, law enforcement and emergency services for new areas.
“[The county] will end up having to take over, and we don’t currently have the sta , so we’ll have to increase our sta and it’ll drive county costs up,” Long said. Additionally, Georgetown Mayor Josh Schroeder said unregulated development could mean that an area that would usually allow for 300 mobile homes could be built up to 1,000 units.
“I think it’s going to just allow for unregulated, very fast paced growth. It’s a huge impact,” Georgetown Mayor Josh Schroeder said. What’s next: As city and county lead- ers remain uncertain of what the bill’s full impact will be, Bettencourt said the state legislature would be keeping an eye on the bill’s implications once it goes into e ect in September.
The outlook: Leaders in Round Rock,
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CEDAR PARK FAR NORTHWEST AUSTIN EDITION • AUGUST 2023
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