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Taylor increases city limits by 10 percent; spurs debate

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By Suzanne Haberman Friday, 15 January 2010

City staff followed due process, but residents organize protest

TAYLOR — Taylor city limits expanded to include an additional 1,012 acres after its city council voted to annex adjoining land during the Dec. 17 city council meeting. While officials have said the motion was approved to help the city manage future growth, the decision has upset some property owners who are now an incorporated part of Taylor.

Taylor’s new incorporated land; Source: City of Taylor

Annexation debate

Plans for a possible annexation began in September when Taylor officials identified four areas outside city limits that they wanted to annex by the end of 2009. During the four stages that followed—two public hearings, the first reading and the council vote—residents in the annexed areas expressed disapproval over several aspects of the annexation. They contested the process, the reasoning and the prospect of paying taxes to the city.

Other residents opposed to annexation, like Nancy Stimach, who purchased 11 acres in the Texas Blackland Prairie south of Taylor five years ago, wanted to preserve their agrarian lifestyle.

“I wanted to live out in the country,” Stimach said. “I wanted to live out on the prairie. I wanted to live in the black dirt.”

Reason to annex

As Taylor expands, the city wants to be able to enforce codes and regulate zoning. Having growth areas within city limits helps the city stay on track with the plans outlined in the city’s comprehensive plan, said Jim Dunaway, Taylor city manager.

“We’re looking at our growth areas that we project; the annexation is not a monetary issue,” Dunaway said, explaining that the property tax collected on the annexed land will be negligible because it is mostly undeveloped.

Dunaway cited specific reasons to supervise growth in the areas annexed.

The land north and west of Taylor will provide access to Chandler Road, which, upon completion in 2010, will provide an east-west corridor between Round Rock and Taylor. Property along the roadway and at the intersection of Hwy. 95 and Chandler Road will become prime real estate for businesses and the city wants to supervise its development, Taylor Mayor Pro Tem Ella Jez said.

Zoning control will also be important for the land annexed east of Taylor because heavy manufacturers have expressed interest in relocating to the area.

“You wouldn’t want an industrial site next to a residential site,” Jez said. “It might not be conducive to the neighborhood.”

To the south, where the new Taylor High School is slated to open by 2011, city regulation will help ensure the school is by residences and the types of business that are useful to nearby homeowners and high school students, Dunaway said.

Advantages to citizens

Newly annexed residents acquire some city services right away, Dunaway said.

“You’d get the soft services immediately,” he said, referring to everything but utilities including water and sewer.

Taylor residents have access to city facilities such as parks and the library, as well as police, fire and road maintenance services. However, that does not stop people who live outside Taylor from using these services. They also contribute to the wear and tear of facilities and roads, but do not pay taxes to maintain them. When annexed citizens pay taxes for these services, it will more equitably share the expense, Dunaway said.

Additionally, the value of land annexed might increase, depending on growth and location. Dunaway said at least one annexed property owner turned down an agricultural exemption by choosing to go along with the annexation. The exemption would offer tax breaks on land used for timber, wildlife or agriculture. Instead some residents opted to become a part of Taylor with the hope of making a bigger land sale in the future.

Resident protest

Annexation opponents, including Stimach, formed StopTaylorAnnexation in protest of the annexation. Some said the annexation should be nullified because Jez, who owns property in the southern tract, engaged in a conflict of interest by introducing the motion to consider annexation on Sept. 29.

The group has said being involuntarily annexed is unconstitutional because the people did not get to vote on the issue. However state law allows cities to bring adjacent land into city limits without residents’ consent in low-density areas. When the land has fewer than 100 houses, cities can annex immediately; if there are more, the city has to follow a three-year process to ensure services are delivered.

The coalition has challenged the city’s count of less than 100 houses based on Williamson County tax records.

“We are threatening to take legal action,” Stimach said. In fact, the coalition has filed a complaint with Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley.

“I’m one of a core team of about five or six landowners who are helping to spearhead this on behalf of our friends and neighbors,” Stimach said. “They didn’t realize the dragon they were awakening when they started all this.”

Coalition members and some residents do not believe the annexation is for zoning control; rather, that it is a way for Taylor to increase city funds through taxation.

Seventy-five-year-old rancher Edward Wolbrueck owns 157 acres on a farm north of Taylor where he grows corn and cotton. Edward and his wife, Deloris, moved out of town about five years ago because they wanted to live in the country. But soon, Chandler Road will run through their property.

Unlike Stimach, however, the Wolbruecks’ land qualifies for the agricultural exemption. More than 1,600 acres of the originally proposed land claimed the exemption for timber, wildlife or agriculture. Those properties will remain outside city limits for up to 15 years or until the land use changes.

“That’s going to be the only salvation for it,” Deloris said. “Otherwise, you can’t afford the taxes.”

Annexation basics

What it is
- Annexation is the method a city uses to add land to its area of authority. For municipalities with populations fewer than 25,000, such as Taylor, state law allows annexation of land extending 1 mile from city limits, an area known as the extraterritorial jurisdiction.
Taylor’s past annexations
- September 2008: 1,112 acres involuntarily annexed
- 1970-2008: More than 2,063 acres voluntarily annexed
Voluntary vs. involuntary
- A city or a citizen can initiate the annexation process.
- Voluntary: Initiated by property owner
- Involuntary or unilateral: Initiated by city without consent of the property owner. In areas with more than 100 residences, state law requires the process take three years to ensure city services are delivered to the residents.
City services provided to newly annexed areas
- Building inspection
- Library
- Parks and recreation
- Planning and zoning
- Police and fire protection
- Street maintenance
- Water, sewer and solid wastes
Taxation after annexation
- Involuntary annexation can leave property owners feeling that annexation is a fast, unstoppable track to paying higher taxes. This timeline shows where citizens can voice their opinion along the way.
Government action - Residents’ action:
- 1. City proposes - Public hearings and city council meetings
- 2. City annexes - Planning and zoning and city council meetings
- 3. City zones*
- 4. Williamson Central Appraisal District appraises** - Appraiser, Appraisal Review Board
- 5. Pay taxes
- *Zoning controls whether land is used residentially or commercially.
- **Property taxes are based on this yearly assessment. A 2009 constitutional amendment requires that appraisals of homes reflect the value of the residence, not the commercial potential of the property.