MUD opponents to hold meeting Jan. 29
Citizens Against Ellis County MUDs will hold a meeting from 7:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29, at SPJST Hall, 1901 E. Ennis Ave., Ennis. The public is encouraged to attend and learn more about the ongoing resident-led fight against the development of municipal utility districts in rural Ellis County.
“This information will be beneficial to all those fighting in Ellis County,” organizers wrote on the group’s Facebook page.
Up for discussion during the meeting will be the recent Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Commission’s rulings involving the proposed Shankle Road MUD – and what those decisions mean going forward. A potential response by the group relating to the rulings will also be discussed.
A map and legend on the county’s website (County Judge Todd Little’s webpage – scroll down to “Map of Municipal Utility Districts in Ellis County” and click for the most recent version) indicates 25 MUD and other district-type projects proposed or underway. They are located throughout the county and, if built out, would bring more than 37,000 housing units on about 17,000 acres.
Although complete information isn’t available for all the projects, per the county’s current listing of proposals, it appears Precinct 3 has the most planned housing units (14,697) with just under 4,000 acres involved across three separate projects.
Precinct 4 weighs in with 11,099 units involving 7,421 acres across 10 projects.
Precinct 1 has 3,315 acres involved with just under 7,500 housing units slated across nine projects. (The county’s information shows one project as inactive).
Precinct 2 has two projects that encompass 1,606 acres and a proposed 4,469 housing units.
One project involves 480 acres in two precincts, 1 and 4, but doesn’t indicate the number of housing units it proposes.
County officials have taken a position against MUDs, with commissioner court agendas typically including a closed executive session to receive attorney input on the legal efforts being undertaken. Several recent proceedings have seen the county obtain “affected person” status relating to different proposed projects making their way through the TCEQ process. That has allowed the county input and the ability to raise questions in addition to the residents who have filed their opposition.
A primary complaint has been the lack of information to counties about such proposed projects. At least one bill has been filed with the 89th Legislature that would require notice by certified mail to the affected county before a petition to create a special district can be filed with the TCEQ.
The measure, HB 363 by Keith Bell (R-Forney), would allow a county to review the petition and submit a written opinion on its creation. Bell has also filed HB 447, relating to traffic studies before the issuance of certain municipal utility district bonds.
Visit the Citizens Against Ellis County MUDs Facebook page here. To be placed on the group’s informational contact list, email againstshanklemud@gmail.com.
Written by Jo Ann Livingston/ITKE.
