Marble Falls pushes for legislation giving cities more power over permits in ETJs
STAFF WRITER JARED FIELDS
MARBLE FALLS — In an ongoing effort to address permitting issues within Marble Falls’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, the city on Aug. 21 passed a resolution to seek help from the Texas Municipal League to recommend legislation.
The city is recommending the league pursue legislation during the 2019 session that would require the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to first obtain consent of a city before issuing a standard permit.
This comes after months of back-and-forth battles over air-quality permits for rock crushing plants.
“We’re not asking for a moratorium or anything like that. What we’re saying is let’s be reasonable,” City Manager Mike Hodge said. “If you’re doing something within our ETJ, why can’t we do like the permitting for a liquor license. You have to check with the city first where they say, ‘You’ve got the zoning. Is it permitted?’”
After going through the city process, an air-quality permit can then be permitted, the city argued.
“That’s all we’re asking. Let’s look at it a little bit differently,” Hodge said.
Other cities such as Bulverde, Boerne, El Paso, Fort Worth, and Houston have had similar issues, Hodge said.
“So what we’re trying to do, and the way it works for the TML slate, is they will look at what are the important issues to follow and push for the legislative session, and we’re hoping there’s enough interest from a lot of the member cities that they’ll include this on that slate,” he said.
As is the case every legislative session, cities and the Texas Municipal League have a number of items they’d like to address, so this issue may or may not be taken up.
“So, we’ll see what happens,” Hodge said.
The league’s annual conference is in October, when it will consider petitions from cities.
5 thoughts on “Marble Falls pushes for legislation giving cities more power over permits in ETJs”
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Well then you all, what do you propose? Right now the TCEQ rubbers stamps things based on some narrow and easily obtainable criteria but we have no way to stop a big obnoxsious plant owned by people who don’t live here. Don’t give the ‘it creates jobs’. What a joke- a couple of poorly paid guys and an overworked GM at the facility who is a slave to bubbas on Austin’s golf courses. Sorry- that’s not a business with the community at heart. So again, what do you propose if you are “all for the enviornment’ but don’t want any teeth to keep the community from turning into a mini Dallas or Houston? Why don’t we put these plants right next door to YOU. How about a prison annex in your back yard? How about a low-income apartment complex- lord knows you’d change your tune in a heartbeat. Bring a solution to the table- not just run and hide.
If you think tceq just rubber stamps everything based on a narrow criteria then you should look at the steps involved and how long it can take to actually get a permit. You don’t just give them a check and have them hand you the permit. And as far as having one next to your property. Take a look at hwy71. There is an existing quarry right across the road from a large development. It’s very obvious the developers don’t care cause if they did they would not be cutting up the land to sell off 200 plus tracts. Oh and the developers don’t live here either.
I enjoy living in Marble Falls but I have to agree with most others. Greed is still Greed. Enough is enough. I am just really tired of taking property that does not belong to us because (we) decide that it is in “their” best interest. We add a water line without asking then we demand payment for something that was never requested. We sign a contract with the county to be a first responder in the ETJ – then demand payment later(in the form of annexation) arguing that the citizens being annexed should pay for those services. It is a trap and I am not at all proud of our city management when they sharpen their elbows and change lives while really just commandeering hard working peoples land.
Our council can stop this if they want to. Salaried city management is usually here for a short while…..building experience and resume building. We are not your ladder. We are not proud of you if your desire is to use our reputation, goodwill and taxes to conquer neighbors. So scram!
Once again, the same City that squandered 6 MILLION on Escondido, the little street by the bridge, and then tried to collect it BACK from the citizenry…that same City wants to extend its power and control even farther, beyond the City Limits, thus forcing legitimate businesses to move completely out of the area. Marble Falls ALREADY has a horrible reputation for NOT being Business Friendly! NOW, they get to push even MORE businesses away. I have already moved my base of operations for one business, far away from Marble Falls, because of this mindset. Soon, I will move another business to another town (ANY TOWN!) where they are more business friendly. Having done business across the country, I’m still surprised at how difficult it is to get a business going. YES, we need environmental standards! Yes, we need to restrict certain types of business. BUT FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE, why must the City Council feel the need to justify its existence, by controlling Mom & Pop businesses, who understand the businesses better than the City of Marble Falls could ever hope to? We will soon have ONE BUSINESS LEFT in Marble Falls. We may end up moving that business, also, because we’re busy trying to actually run our businesses, and have no time to devote to pettiness, brought on by an overreaching California “wannabe” City Government.
Oh so the city wants more control of their etj and wants pressure put on tceq to be more strict in the permitting process. They might want to back off that seeing as it could cause tceq to make other permitting items stricter. Such as ww systems,purple effluent lines etc.