Charter commission to recommend city adopt ETJ notification procedures

The commission considered Proposal 1, which would require the city to publish or otherwise notify property owners in its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) when infrastructure or development decisions would materially affect them. Commissioner Speaker 11 presented the proposal, which would add a reporting or impact-notice requirement to the charter or as a recommendation to council. Discussion focused on scope: whether the charter is the proper place for operational details, how to define the notification radius (members cited earlier practice of notifying within roughly a 500-foot radius), and whether the city should rely on mail, inserts in utility bills, social media and other channels.

Some commissioners argued the detail belongs in city policy rather than the charter; others said a charter-level statement would ensure transparency and that ETJ residents are acknowledged in city governance documents. Chair (Speaker 1) said the commission may opt to prepare recommendation wording and send it to the city attorney for formal drafting.

Motion and vote: Commissioner Speaker 10 moved that the commission recommend city council adopt a formal procedure for contacting affected ETJ landowners when infrastructure projects would affect those properties. The motion was seconded and carried by voice vote; Chair recorded the motion as passing unanimously.

What it means: The commission will present a recommendation to the City Council asking for an official policy or procedure to ensure ETJ residents receive impact notifications; the precise text will be drafted by the city attorney following the commission’s direction.

Representative quote: “I was just going to make a motion that we make a recommendation to council that they have a procedure for contacting affected landowners in ETJ days when infrastructure projects would affect those properties,” said Speaker 10.