Since 2000, roughly 18,000 to 20,000 acres of farm and ranch land have been converted to subdivisions, representing about 31 of the county's 576 total squire miles.

"That's a lot of land," Hornseth said.

More than 40 subdivisions and 17,000 new lots have popped up in the unincorporated areas of the county since 2000.  The development figures reflect a steady shift in Comal's overall makeup - from a rural community to an urban setting located smack-dab in the middle of the sprawling Interstate 35 corridor.

"At the current rate of development that seems to be the direction its heading in," Hornseth said.

The majority of the 42 subdivisions are concentrated in three areas: Canyon Lake, Farm-to-Market 306 near I35 and along the US 281 corridor, bordering San Antonio.  Development of subdivisions in and around the county's unincorporated area, which Hornseth said "is on the increase," has been spurred by rapid population growth.

In the same seven-year span, the county's population has increased by nearly 25 percent, from 78,000 to slightly more than 100,000 people.  As a result, Comal is on of the 10 fastest growing counties in the state and 56th fastest in the nation, according to census figures.  Numbers generated by the county engineering department show that Comal is growing by about 3,700 people every year.  By 2020, the county is expected to reach a population of about 145,000 people.

And, according to projected census figures, there are no sign those numbers will slow down.

KEEPING PACE

For county officials, the challenge posed by the surge of people looking to call Comal home is trying to keep pace with growth and subsequent new development that follows.

The reason:  Commissioners say they lack the fundamental authority to regulate new development in the unincorporated portions of the county. 

"In Comal and other rapidly growing counties in the Hill Country we can't continue to feasibly exist with the limited tools we have now," Pct. 2 County Commissioner Jay Millikin said.  "Commissioners Court needs the same tools city councils have to protect the property values of the people who live in the unincorporated area."

Those tools Millikin is referring to that the county currently lacks includes the ability to assess certain fees onto developers when a subdivision impacts the county.  For example, Millikin said the county is paying for a 750,000 drainage facility for the Rockwell Ranch subdivision.  Millikin said the county would like to have certain zoning authority over future development, too.  Every city council in the state has the authority to regulate development - including the ability to assess fees and complete zoning authority - within its own city limits.

Millikin, who has served as Mayor of Garden Ridge, said the county is not looking to acquire all "the nickels and dimes" that cities have, which also include the ability to regulate behavior through ordinances.  He said the county simply would like to acquire the authority to "prudently manage future development."

"We need some tools to manage what goes on in our county," Millikin said.

FAILED LEGISLATIVE EFFORT

In an effort to get those tools, Millikin, Comal County's volunteer representative at the Texas Legislature, has pushed for legislation that would give the county the ability to manage future development.  Since 1999, bills have been filed every session that would give counties limited authority to assess impact fees and building code authority over developers.  Faced with opposition from powerful lobbying groups at the Capitol, Millikin said those measures "basically went nowhere."

" It's a struggle because the ploy is given that we're out to reduce people's property rights," he said. "In fact, we're out to support peoples property rights and property values."

LIMITED AUTHORITY

As is, the county possesses limited power to regulate development.  In 2000, commissioners passes an order that required developers to prove they can provide water to residents in a proposed subdivision.  In the same year, commissioners also approved an order that said proposed subdivisions could have no adverse impact on down stream drainage systems.  Both orders are based on the full build-out of the subdivision.

For now, that remains the only authority the county has to regulate development in the unincorporated area.  Developers looking to build in the unincorporated area are free to build a horse track, a quarry or a "rock and roll club," right next to an existing subdivision, Millikin said.  Unregulated development of that nature could adversely affect the quality of life for people living in existing subdivisions, he said.  Only sexually-oriented businesses are regulated in terms of where they can be set up shop.

The city of New Braunfels currently approves all subdivision master-plans and plats inside the unincorporated area of the county.  The city also has the authority to extend water and sewer impact fees in the extra-territorial jurisdiction area where New Braunfels Utilities customers live, said Frank Robbins, the city's former planning director.  However, the city cannot assess road and drainage impact fees outside if its city limits, which has spawned conversation about what impact it would have if county's had the same limited authority to regulate development.

Robbins said some people at the municipal level are adamantly opposed to seeing county's acquire the ability to manage development in unincorporated areas.  However, he feels that Comal and New Braunfels would be able to work through the process.

"I think it would be better for the folks that live here now.  It gives you a better tool to regulate the quality and character of your community," he said.  "For me it's a no brainer."

By David Saleh Rauf

The Herald_Zeitung

Sunday, July 15, 2007

CONTACT: Commissioner Jay Millikin
ph: (830) 221-1100
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