Developers present 229-acre Marabella PUD to Ozark planners; annexation and utility swap remain unresolved

Developers of a proposed 229-acre mixed-use project called Marabella told the Ozark City Planning and Zoning Commission they have designed a community with multifamily housing, commercial frontage along Farmers Branch Road, a 55-and-older section and roughly 43 acres of permanent green space but cannot complete annexation until a territory swap between Liberty Utilities and Ozark Electric Co‑op is finalized.

“Our only thing that we’re really waiting on to really continue this to get going is the annexation, which is depending on the utility company,” Michael Roberts, chief financial officer for the property owners, said during a presentation to the commission. He said developers filed documentation with the Public Service Commission in March and have received a staff recommendation but were still awaiting a commissioner vote; the filing was on an extension through June 3.

The developers described a mix of housing types — single-family lots from entry-level to estate, townhomes and a concentrated multifamily area in the northwest with about 220 apartments — plus commercial space on Farmers Branch Road and a central amenity park with a pool, splash pad and courts. Roberts said the plan includes more than 4 linear miles of walking and hiking trails and roughly 43 acres of preserved habitat and trail-connected green space. The presentation packet shows a proposed pool of about 6,000 square feet and a phasing plan the team estimates will take five to seven years to build out.

Why it matters: the project would add housing diversity and taxable value to Ozark but requires several external approvals and infrastructure upgrades. Roberts and the development team said Ozark Electric Co‑op has agreed in principle to serve the site and is pursuing a territory swap with Liberty Utilities; Liberty’s franchise agreement with the city and its existing infrastructure were cited by the developers as a barrier. Roberts also said the developers were negotiating road requirements with the Ozark Special Road District and working with city staff on wastewater capacity tied to the Lambert’s Lift Station.

During the discussion commissioners and staff raised traffic and access concerns. Roberts said OSRD has requested Farmers Branch Road be widened to three lanes along the development frontage — a change the developers have priced in and said two independent traffic studies did not find necessary. He said developers removed 30 lots from their plan after an updated FEMA floodplain map and redesigned retention and trail areas to avoid the floodplain.

The developers said they plan to use recorded covenants and restrictions (CCRs) to maintain building quality (Roberts pointedly said he did not plan to allow vinyl siding), and to build interior roads to city standards so the streets can be accepted by Ozark. Vertical-build partners named in the presentation include Shubert Mitchell Homes for single-family phases; Roberts said apartment and commercial parcels would likely be sold to or built by separate vertical developers subject to the project CCRs.

Discussion items with no formal action included wastewater capacity and timing, utility rates and cost‑sharing for substation upgrades, whether the apartment buildings would be limited to three stories, emergency access and whether to add dual access for emergency services. Roberts said Ozark Electric has a substation about three‑quarters of a mile north with capacity and that the co‑op has indicated willingness to fund the substation upgrade; he said Liberty had expected developers to share a percentage of that cost.

No annexation, rezoning or permit requests were decided at the meeting. Roberts said the team had previously filed an annexation application in the fall, then withdrew it when they discovered the additional utility-approval requirement. He asked the commission to review the materials and provide feedback before the developers refile.