Kerrville officials have rejected a developer's request to annex land for a proposed 1,150-home development, saying they have concerns about the size of the project and the potential infrastructure costs to the city.
Developer D.R. Horton had asked the Kerrville City Council annex a 263-acre tract for the project, which is called Meek Ranch in city planning documents. Annexing the property would require Kerrville to provide city services for the project, including water and sewer, police, fire and other emergency services. The property is about three miles southeast of downtown Kerrville along Texas 173, which is known locally as Bandera Highway.
City officials and some residents said they have concerns about the number of houses proposed for the property, and about the potential costs to the city to provide services for the development.
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Ashley Farrimond, an attorney representing D.R. Horton, said the development aims to be “middle-range housing,” with homes selling from $350,000 to $420,000.
Kerrville’s Planning and Zoning Commission approved the plan before sending it to the City Council. City staff recommended the council approve the annexation, city documents show.
The property includes about three acres along the banks of the Guadalupe River. Farrimond said that stretch could be developed into an amenities center and not be turned into more homes.
Residents raise traffic concerns
Jay C. Wheatcraft, whose family owns property just south of the proposed development, said the project “threatens the very essence” of the Hill Country.
Texas 173 is already a crowded highway, and potentially adding thousands of residents nearby would make it worse, he said during the city council meeting's public comment period.
“By approving this proposal, you are risking lives and putting public safety in jeopardy,” he said.
“We all know what it’s going to look like when 4,500 cars try to enter (Texas) 173 at 7:30 in the morning,” Kerrville resident Christa Lovett said during public comment. She is a resident of Comanche Trace, a subdivision just south of the proposed development.
No traffic studies of the development have been conducted yet.
Kerrville’s thoroughfare plan would require D.R. Horton to build a road connecting Texas 173 and Texas 16, another main thoroughfare in the city.
Questions about density, costs
All five City Council members said D.R. Horton’s project calls for too many homes on the property. Council Member Delayne Sigerman called the project’s density “inappropriate” for Kerrville.
The council members also expressed concern about the project's impact on the city’s water supply and whether adding several thousand residents would damage Kerrville’s “small-town” feel.
Mayor Joe Herring Jr. said he was uncomfortable annexing the property without knowing exactly what services the city will eventually have to provide, and how much they will cost.
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Farrimond said D.R. Horton would pay for water, sewer, drainage and traffic improvements.
However, if the property is annexed and D.R. Horton failed to fund the needed capital projects, the city would have to pay for them, council members said.
Council Member Jeff Harris said he was bothered by the developer not guaranteeing it could handle paying for the project’s infrastructure alone.
"You can't guarantee us that y'all would not come back to the city and say 'We want (the city) to subsidize our infrastructure,'" Harris said.
D.R. Horton representatives did not say whether they plan to bring the annexation request back to the city at some point, or whether the project would proceed as planned if the site remains outside the city limits.
Attacking a housing shortage
City officials say they know Kerrville needs more homes, as outlined by the Kerrville 2050 Comprehensive Plan that calls for more homes an average Kerrville family would be able to afford.
That plan prioritizes building more homes, along with conservation and rejuvenating the city’s downtown. The city is targeting the area of Kerrville near the unincorporated property for more development, labeling it a Strategic Catalyst Area in its plan.
While attracting large developers may be a turn-off for locals, national companies could be one of the few options to tackle the city's housing shortage, City Manager Dalton Rice told the Express-News in December.
Local builders tend to specialize in custom-built homes, Rice said. Large developers like D.R. Horton that build less-expensive homes can make a profit off large-scale projects, he said.
Kerrville, which has about 25,000 residents, hasn't grown as swiftly as some other Hill Country cities. Depending on growth trends, the city's population could be between 38,000 and 51,000 by 2050, according to a city-commissioned study from Freese and Nichols, a Fort Worth-based consulting firm. The city needs 2,000 to 2,500 housing units to catch up to demand, according to the study.
The median home price in Kerrville increased from $224,000 in 2018 to $345,000 in 2023, the study said. The median household income in Kerrville was about $59,000 as of 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
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A shortage of single-family homes and rental units pushes up home prices and rents, making the city less affordable, Rice said. That can lead to a smaller workforce, which discourages businesses from moving to the area and forces existing businesses to poach workers from a dwindling pool of local talent, he said.
Feb 18, 2025
Hill Country Reporter
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