Development moratorium in Dripping Springs extended 90 days

The City of Dripping Springs has extended its Temporary Development Moratorium for 90 days, affecting permits for new development in the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction.

At its special meeting on Monday, Nov. 22, the Dripping Springs city council voted to approve an extension of the existing moratorium, which started on Nov. 18 and would have otherwise concluded Nov. 27. During this time, no city department will accept permit applications for development — though exceptions and waivers exist. If not extended again, the moratorium will end on Feb. 20, 2022.

In a statement regarding the moratorium earlier this month, the City of Dripping Springs said it recognized the impact of rapid growth on responsible development. The statement also said the city reached its wastewater capacity and was in the process of updating its Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance.

Initial reactions to the moratorium varied. Many expressed frustration that the city had not acted sooner.

“The opportunity for council to correctly make decisions to safely support growth has long since passed,” local Lindsey Shumway stated in a Facebook post.

Others found the decision to be a dramatic switch from the slew of development approvals the city had been passing of late.

“They were just considering two new residential projects just two weeks ago,” Dripping Springs resident Jon Thompson said. “On paper, [I think] the city has known they were at capacity for a long time. They sold the capacity to tract homebuilders and large developers long before they even applied for service allowing these developers to tie up the wastewater capacity.”

Meanwhile, some found this to be a sign of positive change — one that the community of Dripping Springs should get behind.

“Maybe if we support this - we can halt it for longer and correct the damage they have already created,” one local commented.

The key to Dripping Springs’ development problem is selectivity, said Jason Giulietti, president of the Greater San Marcos Partnership, the regional economic development organization for Hays County. Rather than shutting out new development, the city should be more critical of the developers that apply.

“The community’s concerned that they’re not going to have the infrastructure, wastewater and other resources to accommodate [growth],” he explained. “So, I understand the city’s vantage point in slowing it down. But they need to find other solutions.”

Taylor Jackson, CEO of the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin, expressed similar sentiments.

“Our members recognize the importance of critical infrastructure, such as wastewater,” she said. “But this is an extreme measure. We want the city to work diligently to do whatever it needs to do to move forward and prevent an extension.”

Most of the public feedback received by the city pertained to questions about specific and ongoing projects, said Laura Mueller, the Dripping Springs city attorney.

However, much of the public opinion expressed at the Nov. 22 was in strong support of the city’s moratorium extension.

“I was trying to get away from the rat race, and I feel like the rat race is catching up to me,” one Dripping Springs local said of his move to Dripping from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. “I think a comprehensive plan is definitely in order, because things seem to have gotten way out of hand out here.”

Mayor Bill Foulds emphasized the importance of community support to the success of the effort to give the city time to update its ordinances and regulations for growth.

"This isn't going to get rid of the traffic on [Highway] 290, it's not going to get rid of the traffic on [Ranch Road] 12 and it's not going to get rid of the high home prices,” he joked. “Y'all need to be present, and we need your neighbors to be present.”

“Our goal is to protect the treasured quality of life we have all come to know and love,” he also emphasized.

Exceptions to the moratorium include vested and ongoing projects, platted projects where wastewater has been approved, development agreement projects, and projects with little to no impact that are administratively approved.

The city has set up a section on its website where developers and citizens can go for up-to-date information: cityofdrippingsprings.com/moratorium. Developers or citizens with questions should contact the Planning Department at moratorium@cityofdrippingsprings.com.