BUDA — Buda City Council took several actions that align with the previously negotiated and adopted development agreement (DA) between Milestone Community Builders and the council for the Persimmon development at its Jan. 21, meeting. This follows the approval of the DA at the June 18, 2024, regular meeting.
According to the city, no new decisions were considered regarding the Persimmon project, only next steps of applying the DA were confirmed.
“None of this stuff that is in this document this evening on this agenda is new. It is what we had talked about and planned for years,” said Mayor Lee Urbanovsky. “Just kind of setting the precedent. It’s heavy. It’s a big deal, but this is not different than what we’ve worked toward for a long time.”
The following items were approved by the city council at the Jan. 21 meeting: Annexation
Council approved the annexation of approximately 762.254 acres of land out of the S.V.R. Eggleston Survey No. 3, Abstracts 5 and 11, located north of RM 967 and east of Dove Drive in Hays County and Travis County, more commonly known as Persimmon. The entire development is approximately 774 acres, according to agenda documents.
The DA required that the applicant submit a full purpose annexation request, as well as a request to rezone the property with a Planned Development (PD). The proposed project will consist of up to 2,300 dwelling units and associated parkland and open space; this project will also construct a new connection from RM 967 to FM 1626, agenda documents stated.
Before the annexation, only approximately 12 acres were within the Buda city limits. The land was annexed per the DA to allow the city to provide municipal services, like police and utilities, to that area in exchange for the ability to regulate land use and ensure that residents and businesses within the development benefiting from city infrastructure also contribute to its funding through taxes.
Planned Development
The PD zoning request was also approved, reinforcing the terms and regulations agreed upon in the DA and formally applying them to the property through zoning.
The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the PD zoning at the Dec. 10, 2024 meeting. The vast majority of what is in the proposed PD is taken verbatim from the DA and inserted into the PD document; however, there are a few items that the applicant and staff have agreed need additional clarification or modification, and which does not create a conflict with the DA, according to the city of Buda.
“The Planned Development essentially takes all of the regulations that are described in the DA and reiterates that in the Planned Development document,” said Development Services Director/ City Engineer Angela Kennedy. “That is the zoning document for the development, with three very small additions.”
Staff reviewed the PD with the applicant for compliance with these items and have identified the details that need to be clarified below:
• Garages: Garage doors facing the street shall not compromise more than 50% of the entire front facade.
• Applicant requested that this standard not apply only when, in an effort to preserve existing trees on the building site, the building pad is reduced to 40 feet in width.
• Fences: No fence shall be erected in any required side yard that is adjacent to a public street.
• Applicant requested to allow fences within the side yards, with the provision that they will not be allowed to run parallel within any easements and shall not be located within any site triangles.
• Detailed park plans for future phases: Clarification was required based on the DA language, as it requires that a detailed parks plan (not defined in the DA) for all remaining phases of the development is required within one year of approval of the final plat (however DA did not define which final plat).
• Proposed PD language requires that a detailed park plan is required for Phases 3-8 within one year of the approval of the latter of the final plat for Phase 1 or Phase 2.
• Additionally, Section N.2 the detailed parks plan required within the one-year time frame is defined.
Special Assessment Revenue Bonds
Lastly, Buda City Council approved the issuance of Special Assessment Revenue Bonds totaling $72,295,000 for the Persimmon Major Improvement Area and the Special Assessment Area #1.
The bonds will be repaid through a Public Improvement District (PID) Assessment levied on the individual properties located within the PID boundary and will not be borne by the city of Buda or other property owners in Buda located outside of the district. These bonds will finance public infrastructure for the project, such as the planned Marathon Road, a North/South arterial that will connect RM 967 to the planned FM 1626 connector road.
Construction of the planned roundabout on RM 967 at the entrance to the development is also underway. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), which controls RM 967, approved the roundabout construction to be completed in five phases, with Phase I beginning in January 2025, and will manage that construction.
According to the city of Buda, Phase I will not impact the traffic pattern or flow on RM 967, as work will primarily take place on the Persimmon property west of the roadway.
Construction for the development is expected to begin in early spring 2025; plans are still under review.
More information on the Persimmon development can be found at www.budatx. gov.
