BRENHAM CITY COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY PASSES ANNEXATION, BUDGET ON SECOND READING
The annexation and special zoning of over 170 acres on the northwest side of Brenham received final approval today (Thursday) from the Brenham City Council.
The annexation covers 171.79 acres in total, including 169.42 acres south and west of Dixie Road and north of Sunset Road, 1.6 acres of right-of-way developed as Dixie Road, and a tract of 0.778 acres that is currently a cattle path. The rezoning into a planned development district (PDD) will guide the multi-phase plans of Stylecraft Builders in extending the Vintage Farms subdivision with a blend of over 600 lots of new residential development over a minimum of 12 years.
The council’s unanimous votes came after lengthy debate at its previous meeting on September 4th, but discussion at today’s meeting was much shorter. Initially, a major point of contention was the presence of space dedicated for multifamily dwellings, but the developer opted to redesignate that space as being for “dense residential”, such as townhomes, twin homes and "cluster housing”.
Development Services Director Stephanie Doland stated that the municipal services agreement approved at the last meeting includes a connection count limitation and stipulates that 2027 is the first year that the developer could put in connections to the city’s water and wastewater system. The delay will allow the city more time to upgrade its capacity to handle the added connections.
(City of Brenham)
The developer’s plans also call for connecting Westwood Lane to Dixie Road at the north end of the tract, developing Westwood Lane with a roundabout, putting in sidewalks and trails within the residential area, constructing sidewalks in the greenspace/common areas and along Westwood Lane, and installing perimeter fencing and landscaping along Dixie Road, Vintage Farms Way and Westwood Lane. The “dense residential” section encourages alleys, but does not allow driveway access to Westwood Lane or Vintage Farms Way. A minimum 35-foot bufferyard will be in place from the property line of the existing Vintage Farms single-family homes.
Mayor Pro Tem Clint Kolby said he appreciates the civil and respectful debate between the council, the developer and the general public on this issue. He added that the negotiation between all parties led to “a nice compromise” in the goal of achieving slow, managed growth while keeping the character of Brenham.
Mayor Atwood Kenjura said this process was about careful planning, open communication and reasonable decision-making. He said growth in the city is inevitable, but he feels the city has “taken the right steps”. Councilmember Adonna Saunders said from the constituents she spoke with, many of their worries were alleviated once they learned that the project would not be happening all at once, but over the course of several years.
In other business today, the council unanimously approved the second reading to adopt the 2025-26 budget and levy the tax rate. The budget of $116,262,861 raises an additional $855,418 in property tax revenue in comparison to the past year’s budget, including $191,678 from new property on the tax roll. The tax rate of $0.4676 per $100 valuation is above the previous rate of $0.4584, but is lower than the no-new-revenue rate of $0.4691. It is made up of $0.3256 for maintenance and operations, an increase of $0.0092, and $0.1420 for interest and sinking, no difference from before.
Also in session, the council:
- Held executive session discussion regarding a lease agreement between the city and Washington County related to the Washington County 911 Communications office at 301 North Baylor Street. There will also be consultation with the city attorney concerning a petition received from property owner Ronan Smith, requesting that 22.08 acres of land be released from the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ).
- Approved a professional services agreement between the city and Strand Associates for Fiscal Year 2025-26 on-call engineering services. The total cost is not to exceed $120,000.
- Approved the Routine Airport Maintenance Program (RAMP) grant agreement with TxDOT for the 2026 Fiscal Year. The grant program allows the city to be reimbursed for 90 percent of eligible maintenance items, up to $100,000.
- Approved a contract with DBT Transportation Services, LLC related to the support and maintenance of the Automated Weather Observation System (AWOS) at the Brenham Municipal Airport. The renewal rate for AWOS maintenance and support services is $6,144 for the next five years.
Click here to view the agenda packet for Thursday's meeting.