Lago Vista water plan counts 6,455 future hookups in custom zones

That vote came on an item about dormant PDDs, which are districts that "appear to have remained inactive or dormant for extended periods of time."⁷ City staff prepared a table of "Potentially Dormant or Partially Dormant Entitlements," and 14 of its 22 rows are PDDs.^7,8 We match all 12 developments in the water plan to PDDs on our map, one of them by its owner's name.^1,4

Homes in some districts carry, or could later carry, a second tax or assessment through a special district.^9,10 The agenda report said the item was "not intended to revoke or amend any specific PDD at this meeting."⁷

District counts, acre totals, sums, and comparisons in this story are our calculations from the cited records. Acre totals use the city zoning map's figures, plus ordinance figures for four districts the map does not show as PDDs.

What is a PDD?

Zoning is the city's set of rules for what can be built where, and each PDD starts from a base zoning district. The base district's rules apply unless the PDD ordinance states otherwise. A PDD follows a plan that may vary from the rules of other zoning districts.¹¹

The City Council adopts each PDD by ordinance, which is a local law, after the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) makes a recommendation.¹¹ Since a July 18, 2024, code change, approving or amending a PDD takes the votes of at least three-fourths of all council members, which is six of seven.^11,12 Before that change, the code required a three-fourths vote on PDDs only "under certain circumstances," such as a written protest from nearby owners.¹²

A concept plan is the first step and sets general guidelines, and a detail plan is the final step and sets the details. Neither kind of plan expires on its own. The council or P&Z may start a rezoning if no detail plan is filed within two years. For a detail plan, they may start one when no permit has been issued or construction begun for long enough to show there are no current plans to build.¹¹

It matters now because the council is weighing what to do about districts that sit idle.⁶

What have we reported before?

Our Oct. 1 story on the city's land use map covered Shoreline Ranch, a PDD that a 2007 ordinance capped at 568 lots and multifamily units.¹³ That story also reported that the city's final Water Master Plan projects 20,386 water connections at full buildout.¹⁴ On April 7, 2022, Mayor Ed Tidwell announced that the applicant, TerraMark Ventures, had withdrawn a request to raise that cap to 1,360 dwellings.^15,16

Our Oct. 2 story reported the council's Oct. 1 voice vote, announced as five to two, to approve the commission's draft land use map.¹⁷

Our Oct. 3 story reported the council's 6-1 vote in April 2023 to reserve 4,500 acre-feet of lake water a year.¹⁸ An acre-foot is the amount of water that covers one acre one foot deep.

Our Oct. 5 story covered the ranch's case, the six-of-seven vote rule, and a public improvement district (PID) for Turnback Ranch.¹² This story adds a map of every PDD, what each allows, and what it could mean for taxpayers.

How did Lago Vista end up with 26 PDDs?

Two small districts on the city's zoning map carry 1995 and 1998 ordinance numbers.¹ The city's ordinance page starts at 2021, so we could not read the texts of those two or of most older districts.¹⁹ Between 2001 and 2009, the council approved Marshall's Harbor, Vista Villas, The Hollows, and The Majestic, among others.^7,20

Shoreline Ranch, which the city first zoned in 2002 as Marshall's Vista, won a cap of 568 lots and multifamily units on Oct. 18, 2007.¹³ Tessera on Lake Travis, about 877 acres, was approved on Dec. 17, 2009.²¹ On Aug. 16, 2012, the City Council created a public improvement district (PID) for Tessera.²²

On Feb. 6, 2020, the council adopted the city's current PDD rules. PDDs approved before that date may still be built under their own terms.¹¹

On April 16, 2020, the council voted 6-0 to create the Lakeshore Boulevard PDD on 5.902 acres. Council Member Frank Robbins moved and Council Member Tim Collins seconded.²³

The council approved the Nature's Point PDD on March 4, 2021, on a motion by Council Member Kevin Sullivan and a second by Council Member Dick Weatherly.²⁴ On Sept. 2, 2021, the council approved an amended plan for Firefly Cove, which an older ordinance had called Tusikanni Cove. Sullivan moved and Council Member David Williams seconded.²⁵

On May 5, 2022, the council voted 6-1 to deny The Cottages at Lago Vista, a PDD request for a 64.96-acre tract, with Mayor Ed Tidwell voting against the denial. Sullivan, then mayor pro tem, moved to deny, and Council Member Paul Roberts seconded.²⁶

On June 16, 2022, the council voted 5-1 to approve a new plan for The Falls at Lake Travis. Council Member Gage Hunt moved and Council Member Paul Prince seconded. Council Member Paul Roberts voted no, and Tidwell stepped aside from the item.²⁷

A companion item that would have limited part of the land to park uses failed on a 3-3 vote. Prince moved that item and Hunt seconded, and Roberts, Council Member Chelaine Marion, and Council Member Rob Durbin voted no.²⁷

On May 4, 2023, the council voted 5-1 to adopt Resolution 23-1996, an interim growth policy. The minutes list Roberts as the mover and Durbin as the second, and Durbin as the one vote against it.²⁸ The policy tells staff to list approved zoning changes, including PDDs, that have not shown a sustained effort toward a recorded final plat for more than two years.²⁹

The council would then have the city manager propose a zoning change for any property on that list.²⁹ A final plat is the recorded map of a subdivision's lots.

On July 6, 2023, the council voted 4-3 to approve Luna Ridge, a PDD on 109.522 acres, on a motion by Hunt and a second by Council Member Kevin Sullivan. Council Members Durbin, Chelaine Marion, and Roberts voted no.³⁰

On Sept. 21, 2023, the council voted unanimously, on a motion by Sullivan and a second by Prince, to approve a new Turnback Ranch plan.³¹ On Sept. 28, 2023, the council voted unanimously to create the Turnback Ranch PID, on a motion by Durbin and a second by Mayor Pro Tem Prince. The same night, on motions by Prince, the council unanimously approved a PID development agreement and an agreement to dissolve the PID.³² The dissolution agreement lets the city dissolve the PID if the first bond issue or first assessment levy has not happened by Sept. 28, 2026.³³ A bond is a loan repaid over time, and an assessment is a charge on each lot in the district.

What changed in 2024 and 2025?

On May 16, 2024, on a motion by Durbin and a second by Mayor Pro Tem Marion, the council voted 6-0 to amend the Marshall's Harbor PDD. Roberts stepped down from the dais for the item. The motion postponed action on two lots so the owner could bring evidence that the project was not dormant.³⁴

On June 6, 2024, on a motion by Prince and a second by Roberts, the council voted unanimously to rezone The Majestic's 8.9092 acres from a PDD to park zoning.^2,35 The city itself applied for both changes, citing "the absence of any known activity or investment in the previous two" years.^2,36 On June 20, 2024, the council voted unanimously to table a further Marshall's Harbor rezoning and not move forward with it. Prince moved and Mayor Kevin Sullivan seconded.³⁷

On July 18, 2024, on a motion by Roberts and a second by Marion, the council voted unanimously to rewrite the PDD approval rules.³⁸ The rewritten code says the six-of-seven vote applies to concept plans, detail plans, and any later amendments to either.¹²

On Sept. 19, 2024, on a motion by Roberts and a second by Prince, the council voted 6-0 to amend the Nature's Point PDD.³⁹ P&Z had unanimously recommended disapproval of the amendments.⁴⁰

On Dec. 19, 2024, the council voted 4-3 to approve Firefly Cove's petition for the city's consent to a municipal utility district (MUD).⁴¹ A MUD is a separate district that finances a neighborhood's water, wastewater, drainage, and road systems.⁴² Council Member Adam Benefield moved and Council Member Shane Saum seconded. Durbin, Roberts, and Prince voted no.⁴¹

The motion called for $1.8 million for wastewater treatment and $600,000 for roads to be paid up front at the first bond sale. It also named money for the city's water treatment plant upgrade. Mayor Kevin Sullivan amended the motion so the city's lawyers would review the document and bring it back for final approval.⁴¹

On Feb. 20, 2025, the council voted 5-2 to approve the consent agreement, again on Benefield's motion and Saum's second. Durbin and Roberts voted no.⁴³ Prince, who had voted no in December, did not.^41,43

Durbin told the council, "I'm a consistent no." He said he did not like borrowing money from "the future property owners."⁴⁴

On March 6, 2025, the council approved Resolution 25-2114 and ratified the consent agreement, both 5-2, with Roberts and Durbin opposed. Benefield moved both, with Saum seconding the resolution and Council Member Norma Owen seconding the ratification.⁴⁵

On March 6, 2025, the consent agenda also included the resolution adopting the final Water Master Plan. The council approved the water plan resolution and two other consent items 7-0, on a motion by Roberts and a second by Owen.⁴⁵

On April 17, 2025, the council voted 6-1, with Sullivan opposed, to send a policy for dormant PDDs to P&Z.⁴⁶ Roberts, who submitted the item, moved, and Council Member Norma Owen seconded.^8,46

On May 1, 2025, the council voted 6-0 to accept the streets, drainage, water, and sewer lines in Firefly Cove Phases 1A and 1B.^5,47 Prince moved and Roberts seconded.⁴⁷

On June 5, 2025, the council adopted an ordinance that tells Development Services to keep a list of PDDs and other approvals with no sustained progress toward final platting. The signed ordinance names Roberts as the mover and Saum as the second but gives no vote count.⁴⁸

On Nov. 4, 2025, voters in the new Firefly Cove MUD approved its bonds and taxes, as explained later in this story.^49,50

What happened in 2026?

On Jan. 22, 2026, P&Z had a preliminary plat for 349 Turnback Ranch lots on its agenda. City staff recommended approval, saying the city's engineering reviewer, Freese and Nichols, had found all its comments addressed.⁵¹ A preliminary plat is the first map of a new subdivision's lots and streets.

On May 7, 2026, the council voted 6-0 to approve the Laverne Estates PDD, a hotel project on 7.055 acres at 19708 Boggy Ford Road.^52,53 Benefield moved and Prince seconded. Mayor Shane Saum was absent.⁵² The ordinance requires a building permit within 48 months, or the land returns to the city's Temporary Restricted (TR-1) zoning.^30,53

On May 21, 2026, the council took up an item that Benefield submitted about dormant or inactive PDDs. The agenda report gave its purpose as "to begin a policy and review of inactive or potentially dormant PDDs."⁷ Council Member Paul Prince moved to direct staff to review and locate the five oldest properties for rezoning, and Council Member Jess Hall seconded.⁶

Mayor Pro Tem Norma Owen, Benefield, Prince, Council Member Amanda Chavarria, Council Member Karen Van Ness, and Hall voted yes. No one voted no. The minutes record Saum as absent with an excused absence.⁶ The minutes do not name the five properties.

The staff table the council received on May 21 is the same table staff gave the council on April 17, 2025.^7,8 The table appeared as early as a Feb. 22, 2024, council packet, and it still lists The Majestic as a PDD.^7,54

At the same May 21 meeting, just before the PDD item, the council voted 6-0 to approve a new fee schedule, on a motion by Van Ness and a second by Hall.⁶ It sets a $4,250 fee to amend a PDD and a $5,250 fee for a combined concept and detail plan.⁵⁵

At that meeting, the council took no vote on Firefly Cove's request to change its plans and directed staff to take it back to P&Z.⁶

On June 4, 2026, the council ratified, or formally confirmed, the Laverne Estates ordinance 7-0, on a motion by Owen and a second by Prince.⁵⁶

On July 2, 2026, the council voted 6-0 to approve an amendment to the Turnback Ranch PID dissolution agreement, on a motion by Owen and a second by Hall. Van Ness was absent, and Benefield joined remotely.⁵⁷

City Attorney Brad Bullock described the change as extending the dissolution period "from the original three years to five years." He said the request rested on "internal delays within the city" tied to staff turnover. Benefield told the council he would "not support an extension beyond this."⁵⁸ The records we reviewed do not give the new deadline or the amendment's text.

At its July 9, 2026, meeting, P&Z took up Firefly Cove's request, which would replace its concept and detail plan to update the layout, lot mix, roads, and amenities. The applicant says it would not raise the cap on homes.⁵⁹

Draft minutes the commission has not approved record a 4-1 P&Z vote on July 9, 2026, to table the request, with Commissioner Enrique Lopez voting no. The commission asked for an updated traffic study and a plan for parkland, among other items.⁶⁰ On Aug. 13, 2026, P&Z voted unanimously to continue the case to its next regular meeting at the owner's request.^60,61 The council has not acted on the request in the records we reviewed.

Where are the PDDs, and where does each one stand?

Our map shows 27 districts, which counts The Majestic even though the council rezoned it to park zoning.^1,2 Each district is shaded by where it stands, and tapping one opens its facts.

Building now

Tessera on Lake Travis covers 877.263 acres and is expected to include 1,878 single-family homes.⁶² The water plan counts 541 of its 2,030 entitled connections as active and expects 1,000 by 2033.⁴

The Hollows on Lake Travis covers about 375.5 acres on the city map, and an older development agreement allowed 357 dwelling units.^1,63 The water plan counts 132 of its 532 entitled connections as active and expects 200 by 2033.⁴

Firefly Cove allows up to 280 single-family lots and 45 estate lots on 281.45 acres.²⁵ The water plan counts none of its 325 entitled connections as active and expects none by 2033.⁴

Approved, not started

Turnback Ranch allows up to 349 single-family homes on 241.541 acres.⁶⁴ Its phases are capped at 144 living unit equivalents (LUEs) a year, the city's measure of one lot's water and sewer service.^21,64 The water plan assumes all 349 connections by 2028.⁴

Luna Ridge covers 109.522 acres.⁶⁵ A draft ordinance in the council's packet capped it at 350 living units.⁶⁶ The adopted ordinance says the maximum is shown in an attached plan.⁶⁵

A staff report described 114 detached homes and 224 townhomes.⁶⁶ The water plan counts 4 of its 350 entitled connections as active and expects 50 by 2033.⁴

Nature's Point covers 18.039 acres and allows up to 40 condominium units and a hotel of up to 150 rooms.⁴⁰ The water plan counts 35 entitled connections for it, none active.⁴

Laverne Estates allows a 78-room hotel, a conference center, and six casitas for short-term lodging.⁵³

Dormant or partly dormant

Shoreline Ranch allows 568 lots and multifamily units combined on about 568 acres.¹³ City staff mark it as potentially dormant, with a failed future land use map request on Aug. 3, 2023, as its last activity.⁷ The water plan counts 568 entitled connections, none active or expected by 2033.⁴

Montechino covers 181.3 acres on the city map, and the staff table counts 195 single-family lots, 2 commercial lots, and a retirement center.^1,7 A footnote says 2019 ordinances displaced 67 single-family lots and 2 commercial lots. In their place, the ordinances added 130 assisted-living apartments and 100 independent-living townhomes.⁷

Its latest ordinance is dated Oct. 17, 2019, and its last activity was a preliminary plat approved on Aug. 10, 2023.⁷ The water plan counts 495 entitled connections, none active, and expects 106 by 2033.⁴

Marshall's Harbor covers 197.1 acres on the city map and keeps a condominium lot capped at 56 units.^1,36 The staff table has three Marshall's Harbor entries, and each marks a failed zoning change request on Feb. 6, 2020.⁷ That table predates the council's May 16, 2024, amendment of the district.^34,54

The Peninsula, under Ordinance 08-08-21-02, allows 225 condominium units plus a marina and amenities on 47.3 acres of the city map.^1,7 The council repealed a 2022 amendment on April 20, 2023, after the applicant withdrew on March 30, 2023.^67,68 The water plan counts 200 entitled connections, none active.⁴

Villas at Keegans Crossing allows 154 homes and 5 commercial lots on 28.9 acres of the city map.^1,7 The staff table lists no activity since its original approval.⁷ The water plan counts 151 entitled connections, none active.⁴

The Falls at Lake Travis covers 486.882 acres and limits townhomes to 200.³ City staff count 729 other homes on top of the townhomes, plus 55 acres of hotel or mixed use. Staff mark it as potentially dormant, with its June 16, 2022, zoning change as the last activity.⁷

The water plan's Winn Ranch entry, which we match to The Falls, counts 1,350 entitled connections, none active, and expects 400 by 2033.⁴ We match them because the city titles the 2022 annexation of Lake Travis Group II, Ltd.'s land "Winn Ranch," and that company owned the land rezoned as The Falls.^3,19,69

Vista Villas allows 62 homes, 18 of them built, on 11.8 acres of the city map.^1,7 Its last activity was a pool renewal application on Aug. 28, 2023.⁷

The Highland Lakes Clubhouse Expansion PDD, approved Sept. 19, 2013, covers 5.9 acres and would add a hotel, a pavilion, and a new cart barn.^1,7 Its last activity was a failed fire inspection on Aug. 13, 2021.⁷

Lakeshore Boulevard allows 70 condominium units at 5619 Lakeshore Boulevard.⁷ The water plan counts 70 entitled connections, none active.⁴

Built out or rezoned

Lago Vista Town Centre, created by Ordinance 06-04-27-01, covers about 13.65 acres. A 2024 staff report said that, except for one lot, the property "has the appearance of being fully developed."⁷⁰

The Lago Vista Retail Center, created by Ordinance 05-07-07-01, covers 8.87 acres and has a Brookshire Brothers tenant.⁷¹

The Majestic once allowed 78 homes and one commercial lot.⁷ The city's zoning map and staff table still show it as a PDD.^1,7

Status not confirmed

Seven small or old districts have no confirmed name, owner, home cap, or status in the records we reviewed.

Ordinance 06-06-15-01 covers 77.3 acres, and most overlapping county parcels are Highland Lake Estates Section 23 lots. Ordinance 01-09-06-01 covers 50.4 acres, and most overlapping parcels are lots in the 7 Porticos subdivision. Ordinance 95-05-18-01 covers 24.8 acres, and most overlapping parcels are Canyon Oaks Phase 2 lots.⁷²

Ordinance 05-04-21-01 covers 16.9 acres of Highland Lake Estates and Coeur du Lac lots. Ordinance 13-08-15-01 covers 2.7 acres, mostly in Bar-K Ranches Plat 12. Ordinance 98-03-19-01 covers 2.6 acres in Bar-K Ranches Plat 3 and Lake Country Village 1.⁷²

Ordinance 12-02-16-01 covers 2.2 acres in Bar-K Ranches Section 18.⁷² We could not confirm what any of the seven allows, and a request for the ordinance texts would settle it.

Sunset Harbor, on 27.90 acres, was proposed in 2018 for no more than 45 single-family lots and two multifamily lots, replacing an older PDD for 112 condominiums.⁷³ The city zoning map carries Ordinance 18-01-04-01 for it, but the records we reviewed do not include the council's vote on Jan. 4, 2018.^1,73

Who pays for new neighborhoods?

A MUD is one kind of special purpose district, and the Texas Comptroller notes that such districts "are supported by a property tax, sales tax or user fees, and may issue debt."^74,75 Inside city limits, a MUD needs the city's written consent.⁷⁶ A PID is a different tool, because it assesses the cost of an improvement against the property inside it.⁷⁷

The Turnback Ranch PID memo states that the city's faith and credit are not pledged to repay its bonds.³³ Tessera's 2024 bond form carries a similar notice.⁷⁸ The draft Firefly Cove consent agreement makes the MUD solely responsible for its debts.⁴² We could not find the signed text, and the council changed Section 5.02 on March 6, 2025.⁴⁵

On Nov. 4, 2025, voters in the Firefly MUD approved $260,175,000 in bonds, plus the power to refinance them.^49,50,79 They also approved a maintenance tax of up to $1.20 per $100 of value.^49,50 The official county results record one vote for and none against each proposition.⁴⁹

The election notice allowed all qualified resident electors of the district to vote.⁵⁰

The state's Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) record for the district carries the status "DORMANT AFFIDAVIT FILED."⁷⁹ Under state law, a financially dormant district has no bonds or other long-term debt outstanding, among other limits.⁸⁰ A filing the state received on Sept. 23, 2026, lists the district's total tax rate as $0.92.⁷⁹

A December 2024 letter from the developer, Firefly Cove, LLC, said the maximum MUD tax "can be up to $0.92." The same letter said the MUD "will cost the City nothing."⁹

In the city's 2026 plan for the Tessera PID, one lot type in its third improvement area owes $51,298.58 in all. That is $20,609.24 on the 2024 bonds and $30,689.34 on a developer reimbursement. Another lot type has $26,309.67 and $39,177.89 outstanding, or $65,487.56 in all. The plan calls its figures estimates that are subject to change.¹⁰

City policy caps a PID's yearly assessment at $0.50 per $100 of value. It limits a PID's term to 30 years.⁸¹ Our Oct. 5 story reported the developer's estimate of what the Turnback Ranch PID could cost each home.

What could this mean for taxpayers?

The water plan assumes 1,436 of the 6,455 entitled connections will be built by 2028. It assumes 2,105 by 2033. The full 6,455 is more than the 5,382 water connections the plan counts for the whole city in 2023.⁴

The May 21 agenda report said a PDD "does not typically obligate a city's water or wastewater capacity."⁷ Some agreements do tie homes to water, such as Tessera's, which defines the city's improvements as the capacity needed to deliver 2,030 LUEs of water and wastewater service.⁸² The agenda report said the council needs to understand "what utility or LUE commitments may be tied to those approvals."⁷ The records we reviewed do not total the LUEs the city has committed to all PDDs.

The staff report for accepting Firefly Cove's first two phases gave the financial impact as "Unknown at this time." Once the city accepts streets and pipes, it takes on their "maintenance, operation, and repair."⁵ The draft consent agreement adds that the city "agrees to operate and maintain the public roads within the District."⁴²

It also states that the handover "will not affect the Developer's right to reimbursement from the District." Under the draft, taxes paid by Firefly Cove homeowners could repay the developer for streets that the city maintains.⁴²

The developer's letter said the MUD would pay the city $2,390,735 out of its first bond sale. The city's staff memo lists that amount plus $600,000 more for a future water treatment plant upgrade.⁹ The records we reviewed do not show whether any of that has been paid.

Developers project $333,555,423 of taxable value for Turnback Ranch at full buildout.⁸³ Whether new tax revenue covers the cost of roads, water, and sewer service is not in the records we reviewed.

Under Texas Local Government Code Chapter 245, a permit is decided on the rules in effect when the original application is filed.⁸⁴ The May 21 agenda report added that "certain development projects may be protected from retroactive regulatory changes once rights are vested." It also said the code's no-expiration rule "may make it more difficult to establish dormancy."⁷

The short version

Lago Vista's PDDs are custom zoning rules, each written for one development.¹¹ The city's water plan counts thousands of entitled connections that are not yet in use.⁴

On May 21, 2026, the council told staff to look at the five oldest properties for rezoning.⁶ That vote did not itself rezone any property.^6,7 The records we reviewed do not say what water, sewer, and street costs these districts could bring to the city.

Questions to ask the council

Residents can ask the council four questions. Which five properties is staff reviewing, and where is the list? How many water and sewer connections has the city committed to PDDs in all, and for how long? Who pays to maintain streets and pipes in districts that also tax their own homes? What happens to the Turnback Ranch PID if no bonds are issued by the new deadline?

What we could not find

• The texts of most PDD ordinances adopted before 2021, which are not on the city's ordinance page.¹⁹

• Names, owners, home caps, and status for the seven districts on our map with no confirmed details.

• A total of the water and sewer connections the city has committed to PDDs.

• Which five properties the May 21, 2026, motion covers. The minutes do not list them.⁶

• The text and new deadline of the July 2, 2026, Turnback Ranch PID amendment.⁵⁷

• The signed Firefly Cove consent agreement, and whether any Firefly homeowner has been billed for the MUD tax.

• The council's Jan. 4, 2018, vote on the Sunset Harbor ordinance.⁷³

• Whether the water plan's Winn Ranch entry is The Falls, which we matched by owner.

What you can do

• File a Texas Public Information Act request with the City Secretary for older PDD ordinances, the list of five oldest properties, records of water and sewer commitments by development, and the signed Firefly Cove and Turnback Ranch agreements. You can also ask for the Turnback Ranch PID amendment and its new deadline, the Sunset Harbor ordinance and the vote on it, and any Firefly MUD tax bills.

• The city's Open Records Request page explains how and gives the city up to ten business days to respond.⁸⁵

• Send us records you hold on any PDD at /share-records.

• Read council and P&Z agendas, packets, and minutes on the city's meeting portal before each meeting.

• Speak during public comment when the Firefly Cove PDD change returns to P&Z or goes to the council. P&Z staff say its public hearing is complete.⁶⁰