Dripping Springs extends development moratorium for another 120 days

Published: Thu, 05/19/22

Dripping Springs extends development moratorium for another 120 days

Dripping Springs City Council voted to extend the city's ongoing development moratorium due to wastewater concerns. (Community Impact Newspaper staff)

Dripping Springs City Council members voted to extend the city’s ongoing development moratorium through September 18 at a May 17 meeting.

The moratorium went into effect in November due to lack of wastewater capacity and outdated land-use regulations in the city’s comprehensive plan, which was last updated in 2016. Under the moratorium, the city will not accept permit applications for developments inside city limits or in the extraterritorial jurisdiction where a waiver or exception has not been approved. Projects that do not require wastewater service from the city are eligible for exceptions.

City Council members voted to extend the original moratorium for an additional 90 days in February, drawing out the pause on development until May. The decision was made to allow more time to gather data for future land use regulations to be included in the new comprehensive plan, which will be released in December. The city launched an initiative to update the comprehensive plan in April.

As of May 17, the moratorium will no longer be based on land use but wastewater capacity only. The moratorium can be extended indefinitely due to wastewater concerns, according to the city.

Dripping Springs residents and developers can find more information on the moratorium, including exception and waiver forms.