6 replies to this topic

[John T Roberts]

This article is from the Fort Worth Report, via KERA's website.  Sandra Sadek is the reporter.  This new law is interesting, as it has impacts on a city's Extraterritorial Jursidiction and future annexation.  The link is below:

 

Fort Worth Concerned New State Law Allows Developers to 'City Shop'

[roverone]

It is different, but imagine if areas could vote their way into the ISD they want to be in.

[Crestline]

In a sense, the state elevated ETJ landowners to neighbor-city city councils for annexation-decision purposes. Several years ago I made the post below about annexation; maybe as this new ETJ law plays out we'll see renewed interest by Fort Worth in its neighbor cities.

 

 

The Price of sprawl:

 

Fort Worth Report - https://fortworthrep...istoric-forest/

 

(Please make a donation that you are comfortable with to the Fort Worth Report; it is a good investment in getting news for and about Fort Worth) 

 

That's an interesting article about development on previously-unused land being blocked in the context of a zoning dispute!

 

I'll pivot a bit clumsily to an annexation topic I've been wondering about for a while.  Here's Fort Worth's 2021 Comprehensive Plan:

 

https://www.fortwort...iveplan/adopted

 

It discusses annexation and intergovernmental cooperation at sections 25 and 26, respectively. I assume the previously-unused land at renamerusk's link was annexed at some point in the past (relevant to section 25); here's a screenshot of neighbor governments in section 26:

 

 

Rather than annexing new land, or building on previously-unused land, can Fort Worth grow by absorbing these neighbor governments? I assume the problems with doing so include loss of identity / autonomy in the absorbed neighbor governments. But maybe in the long run the advantages outweigh these problems?

[johnfwd]

Thanks for re-posting renamerusk's post.  I don't believe any of the neighboring communities would want to be absorbed by Fort Worth, particularly so for reasons of identity and autonomy.  I'm wondering if an unintended consequence, long term, will be the creation of new such communities in previously designated ETJs.

 

The constitutional challenges to the Senate Bill will likely be decided by the Texas Supreme Court.

[NThomas]

 

In a sense, the state elevated ETJ landowners to neighbor-city city councils for annexation-decision purposes. Several years ago I made the post below about annexation; maybe as this new ETJ law plays out we'll see renewed interest by Fort Worth in its neighbor cities.

 

Rather than annexing new land, or building on previously-unused land, can Fort Worth grow by absorbing these neighbor governments? I assume the problems with doing so include loss of identity / autonomy in the absorbed neighbor governments. But maybe in the long run the advantages outweigh these problems?

 

 

 

Thanks for re-posting renamerusk's post.  I don't believe any of the neighboring communities would want to be absorbed by Fort Worth, particularly so for reasons of identity and autonomy.  I'm wondering if an unintended consequence, long term, will be the creation of new such communities in previously designated ETJs.

 

The constitutional challenges to the Senate Bill will likely be decided by the Texas Supreme Court.

 

I'm not sure how much "identity" would play into the decision when there's little to no difference between each of these municipalities being mentioned. Nearly all offer either the exact same services, or those being asked for by the majority of their constituency (e.g. non-renewal of MetrOPAC, Richland Hills' withdrawal from Trinity Metro, Grapevine's election for TEXRail, Arlington's extension of $0.05 of sales tax/a 2-percent of hotel tax/5-percent rental car tax for AT&T Stadium & Globe Life Field, etc.) and it would be hard to sell the difference in the bottom line for a decision outside of the very few with higher property tax rates than Fort Worth's:

 

 

This doesn't tell the whole story with some cities like Northlake where multiple tax districts with levies for fast-tracking infrastructure (MUDs/PIDs/TIRZs/Etc.) push that rate higher than Fort Worth's base rate, but Fort Worth, Arlington, and others all have the same districts that pass even those highest four cities in specific commercial-only/heavy districts. All are enclaves of Fort Worth (with the exception of 3/4th's of Blue Mound, the other being Saginaw), but the tax bases are nearly all residential and the lack of commercial land (existing or to be developed) is so lacking, it can't be worth the legal fees and time spent to push for consolidation to grow the tax base for Fort Worth rather than voluntary annexation in the ETJ.

[Doohickie]

Is this constitutional?

 

Senate Bill 2038, which went into effect Sept. 1, 2023, allows property owners to be immediately released from a city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction simply through a valid petition signed by 50% of the registered voters — or a majority in terms of property value — of the landowners of the area.

[Austin55]

The planning section of Accela (City's permitting website) the website is filled with ETJ Release requests. Three today alone totaling around 30 acres.