The City of Katy received its first de-annexation petition under a 2023 state law, leaving some local officials trying to find a way to stop it.
“We’re used to receiving and not giving land away out of our [extraterritorial jurisdiction]. But the developer really wants to develop this property a certain way. It is not going to conform to any of our lot sizes,” Mayor William Thiele told the city council.
Katy Trees, LLC, which owns 81 acres it wants to de-annex from the City of Katy, filed the petition, citing disagreements with the city over lot size requirements and detention measures. Some want to build a residential development on the property, which spans both Harris and Waller Counties, and the desire for 45-foot lots is a major point of contention. The city currently requires 70-foot lots.
Another issue is the developer’s desire to work with a municipal utility district closer to the property to address detention issues, which wouldn’t be possible if they remained within the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ).
Senate Bill 2038 was filed and passed by Houston State Sen. Paul Bettencourt in 2023. It allows landowners to de-annex from a city’s ETJ by petition. These areas, which are not within city limits, are subject to city ordinances, rules, fines, and fees, but the taxpayers within them have no ability to vote on local leadership. Cities were given the authority to claim ETJ in 1963 under the Texas Local Government Code, and many have done so for areas far outside of their boundaries. For instance, The Woodlands—a community nearly 30 miles away from Houston with a population exceeding 100,000—is in Houston’s ETJ.
Despite the Katy City Council unanimously voting to reject the petition, it will become effective in 45 days.
One council member, desperate to stop the de-annexation, proposed tabling it, tagging it, or otherwise delaying it, but city officials told him that once the petition was filed, a 45-day clock began, and there was simply nothing they could do about it.
Fulshear, which is located 20 minutes south of Katy and is one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities, has seen many petitions to de-annex after the 2023 law was approved.
By the end of 2024, landowners had petitioned to remove more than 10,000 acres from the over 38,000-acre ETJ of Fulshear. It’s worth noting that the City of Fulshear itself has only 8,200 acres.
Fulshear recently considered its legislative agenda for the 89th Session, which outlines a plan to “oppose legislation that undermines local zoning authority.” City authorities plan to seek amendments to SB 2038 to exempt “fast-growing” cities from de-annexation petitions.
They also plan to oppose House Bill 878 by State Rep. Cody Vasut, which would prohibit cities with populations over 85,000 from applying certain overly onerous zoning requirements.
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