There is hereby adopted a policy and plan establishing the conditions
under which a municipal utility district may be formed within the
corporate limits of the city, which shall read as follows. The following
terms, conditions and standards establish the basis under which the
city council shall consent to the formation of a municipal utility
district within the corporate limits of the city.
(1999 Code, sec. 11.1001)
(a) The city's consent to the creation of a municipal utility district
(MUD) proposed to be formed within the corporate limits of the city
under the Texas Water Code, section 54.016, and the Texas Constitution,
section 59, article XVI, shall be evidenced by the adoption of an
ordinance.
(b) No ordinance shall be adopted consenting to the creation of a MUD
until the council finds that the proposed MUD (i) will be an economically
feasible and sound development benefiting the city, (ii) will not
adversely affect the existing city water, sewer and storm facilities
or other city utilities or city functions, and (iii) will not increase
the city's taxes or utility rates or adversely impact the city's financing
or bond rating, and that (iv) all of the conditions imposed by this
division have been agreed to by the proponents of the MUD.
(1999 Code, sec. 11.1002)
(a) The following conditions shall apply to every MUD within the city:
(1) The MUD may acquire property outside its boundaries only for purposes
of providing stormwater drainage or detention, potable water distribution,
or sanitary sewer collection;
(2) The MUD shall not provide services for any property outside its boundaries
without the consent of the city;
(3) The MUD shall not allow use of easements or stormwater drainage facilities
owned or controlled by the MUD for any property or development outside
its boundaries;
(4) The MUD shall pay the actual costs incurred by the city for legal,
engineering and financial advisory services in connection with the
consent agreement (hereinafter defined) and the adoption of an ordinance
consenting to creation of the MUD as set forth in the consent agreement.
Should consider increasing the fee to cover the actual costs;
(5) The facilities to be constructed by the MUD shall be designed and
constructed in compliance with all applicable requirements and criteria
of the applicable regulatory agencies and subject to the applicable
provisions of the city's ordinance granting a petition for inclusion
of certain territory in the MUD (the “consent ordinance”);
(6) The city shall not allow any connection to be made to the MUD's water
supply or sanitary sewer system until with respect to such connections:
(A) The MUD has issued an assignment of capacity specifying the number
of gallons per day of water supply and wastewater treatment allocated
for such connection, as has provided a copy thereof to the city administrator;
(B) The city has inspected the connection and premises and has issued
a building permit for that connection;
(C) All buildings or structures served by the connections shall be located
entirely within the boundaries of a lot or parcel shown in a plan,
plat or replat filed with and finally approved by the city planning
and zoning commission and duly recorded in the official records of
the county where the property is located (provided this limitation
shall not apply if no plan, plat or replat is required by applicable
state statutes, city ordinances or city planning and zoning commission
regulations);
(D) The MUD has paid to the city a capital recovery fee for water supply
and wastewater treatment plant capacity. Such fee shall be based on
the amount of potable water supply capacity and wastewater treatment
capacity as determined by the city engineer and utilized by the city
from time to time;
(7) Unless and until the city shall dissolve the MUD and assume the properties,
assets, obligations and liabilities of the MUD, the bonds of the MUD,
as to both principal and interest, shall be and remain obligations
solely of the MUD and shall never be deemed or construed to be obligations
or indebtedness of the city;
(8) All contracts with third parties for construction of water, sewer
and stormwater facilities to serve the proposed MUD will contain the
following provisions:
(A) A requirement that all plans and specifications for construction
of improvements or modification of improvements which are to be built
to serve the MUD and/or require approval of the state commission on
environmental quality be prepared in accordance with the then-adopted
city specifications and requirements for such facilities and delivered
to the city engineer for approval prior to submission to the state
commission on environmental quality. All plans and specifications
presented to the bidders shall be approved by the city prior to advertising
for bids;
(B) An agreement that all construction or modification of improvements
to serve the MUD will be inspected by the city engineer and that no
underground improvements will be backfilled prior to inspection and
approval by the city engineer;
(C) All contracts for construction of improvements will be awarded in
compliance with the public bidding statutes contained within the Local
Government Code, and the lowest responsible bid will be awarded regardless
of percentage of developer participation in the cost of such contracts;
(9) As the MUD's facilities are acquired and constructed, the MUD shall
convey the same to the city, including all warranties relating to
the facilities; provided, however, that the MUD shall not convey,
and the city shall not accept, stormwater detention systems;
(10) As acquisition and/or construction of each phase of the facilities
is completed, representatives of the city shall inspect the same,
and if the city finds that the same has been completed in accordance
with the final plans and specifications the city will accept the same,
whereupon such portion of the facilities shall be operated and maintained
by the city at its sole expense; provided, however, that the city
shall not accept, or operate and maintain, stormwater detention systems;
and further provided, however, that in the event that the facilities
have not been completed in accordance with the final plans and specifications,
the city will immediately advise the MUD in what manner said facilities
do not comply, and the MUD shall immediately correct the same, whereupon
the city shall again inspect the facilities and accept the same if
the defects have been corrected;
(11) The city shall bill and collect from customers of the facilities
and shall from time to time fix such rates and charges for such customers
of the facilities as the city, in its sole discretion, determines
are necessary, provided that the rates and charges for services afforded
by the facilities will be equal and uniform to those charged other
similar classifications of users in non-MUD areas of the city, and
all revenues from the facilities shall belong exclusively to the city;
(12) The city may impose a charge for connection to the facilities at
a rate to be determined from time to time by the city, provided the
charge is equal to the sums charged other city users for comparable
connections, and the connection charge shall belong exclusively to
the city;
(13) The MUD is authorized to assess, levy and collect ad valorem taxes
upon all taxable properties within the MUD to provide for:
(A)
The payment in full of the MUD's obligations, including principal,
redemption premium, if any, and interest on the bonds to be issued
by the MUD and to establish and maintain any interest and sinking
fund, debt service fund or reserve fund; and
(B)
Administration, operation and maintenance purposes, all in accordance
with applicable law;
(14) The city shall not dissolve the MUD until the water, sewer and drainage
utilities required to serve the MUD have been completed and bonds
issued by the MUD to finance same, and the city shall afford the MUD
the opportunity to discharge any obligations of the MUD pursuant to
any existing agreements of the MUD with third parties for construction
of facilities, by either:
(A)
Authorizing the MUD to sell its bonds before or during a transition
period prior to the effective date of dissolution, as established
by the city;
(B)
Issuing bonds and selling bonds of the city pursuant to Vernon's
Texas Codes Annotated, Local Government Code section 43.080, as amended,
in at least the amount necessary to discharge the MUD's obligations,
including those under any such agreements; or
(C)
Providing written notice to the MUD that the city has sufficient
funds available from other sources to discharge the MUD's obligations,
including those under any such existing agreements with third parties;
(15) All city ordinances and codes, including applicable permits, fees
and inspections, shall be of full force and effect within the boundaries
of the MUD in the same manner as with respect to other areas within
the city's corporate limits, except as specifically herein provided
otherwise;
(16) No bonds or notes of the MUD shall be issued or sold unless, not
less than twenty (20) days prior to publication of notice of sale,
the MUD provides the city with a copy of its proposed bond order,
preliminary official statement, bid form and notice of sale and the
following criteria are met. The MUD shall not issue bonds unless the
following conditions have been satisfied:
(A)
The MUD shall not issue any bonds unless the purpose for which
the proceeds of such bonds may be used is limited to one or more of
the following and no others:
(i)
Designing, purchasing and/or constructing or otherwise acquiring:
c.
Stormwater drainage facilities;
e.
Parks and recreation facilities;
(ii)
Purchasing or constructing or otherwise acquiring interests
in real property, equipment, buildings, plants or structures necessary
or incidental to the operation of waterworks facilities, wastewater
facilities, or stormwater drainage facilities;
(iii) Costs of issuance of the bonds (including but
not limited to legal fees, financial advisory fees, administrative
and organizational fees and expenses and costs of operations during
construction, bond discount, capitalized interest, developer interest,
creation costs, and contingencies relative to facilities not yet under
contract);
(iv)
Any other purpose authorized by law and approved by the city
council.
(B)
The MUD shall not sell or issue any bonds unless:
(i)
The terms of such bonds expressly provide that the MUD reserves
and shall have the right to redeem the bonds not later than on any
interest payment date subsequent to the 15th anniversary of the date
of issuance, without premium;
(ii)
The bonds, other than refunding bonds, are sold after the taking
of public bids thereof;
(iii) None of such bonds, other than refunding bonds,
are sold for less than 95% of par; and
(iv)
The net effective interest rate on bonds so sold, taking into
account any discount or premium as well as the interest rate borne
by such bonds, does not exceed two percent above the highest average
interest rate reported by the Daily Bond Buyer in its weekly “20
Bond Index” during the one-month period next preceding the date
notice of the sale of such bonds is given, and bids for the bonds
will be received not more than forty-five days after notice of sale
of the bonds is given.
The city shall review the documents required to be provided hereunder and the evidence of compliance with the foregoing criteria within ten (10) business days following receipt of same. If no written objections are provided to the MUD by the city within said period, issuance and sale of the bonds shall be deemed to be approved by the city and the criteria set forth above shall be deemed to be complied with. Any objections by the city shall be in writing and shall set forth the reasons therefor, which must be based on one or more of the matters described in subsections (A) and (B) above. Any costs incurred by the city in connection with review of the issuance of bonds shall be paid by the MUD, in an amount not to exceed $2,500.00;
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(17) The city acknowledges that a MUD has authority to assess an unlimited
tax for payment of debt service. However, prior to implementation
of any increase in tax rate following the setting of its initial rate,
the MUD shall make a formal presentation to the council explaining
the need for the increase, at which time residents of the MUD shall
be given an opportunity to be heard. Notice of such presentation shall
be sent to each owner of taxable property within the MUD as reflected
on its most recent certified tax roll. This provision shall be in
addition to any requirements of notice and hearing which may be contained
in the Texas Water Code and in the Texas Tax Code which apply to the
MUD;
(18) In addition to the information the MUD is required to file of record
as required by the Texas Water Code, the MUD shall annually deliver
to each property owner within the MUD, as reflected on its most recent
certified tax roll, written notice of the existence of the MUD and
its right to assess taxes in addition to those assessed by the city.
Such notice shall also contain a reference to the consent agreement,
the consent ordinance and this division. Such notice shall advise
the property owner that such documents are available for inspection
during regular business hours in the MUD's office;
(19) The proponent shall enter into a utility functions and services allocation agreement (“consent agreement”) with the city, which shall contain the terms and conditions set forth in this section, as well as other terms and conditions which may be agreed to by the city or imposed pursuant to section
13.07.035. The consent agreement shall be assigned by the proponent to the MUD upon its creation; and
(20) The consent agreement shall be entered into simultaneously with the
adoption of the consent ordinance.
(1999 Code, sec. 11.1003; Ordinance 2599, sec. II, adopted 11/11/13)
(a) Upon the presentation of a petition for consent for the creation
of a MUD within the corporate limits of the city, the proponent shall:
(1) Present evidence, including a current survey of the property, showing
the proposed MUD contains a minimum of 200 acres if the proposed MUD
is designed for residential purposes or a combination of single-family
residential purposes or a combination of single-family residential
and commercial uses, or a minimum of 50 acres if the proposed MUD
is designed to serve only commercial development;
(2) Present a preliminary report describing the MUD and proposed use
of the land within the MUD showing that the proposed MUD and land
use are feasible;
(3) Present an estimate of assessed valuation of the MUD showing the
value of property as it exists on date of the petition; a build-out
schedule showing the projected value of the property when 50% of the
projected vertical improvements for the MUD, exclusive of wastewater,
water, sewer and drainage improvements, have been completed, and showing
the projected value of the improvements upon completion of the development
within the MUD; and
(4) Agree that the proponent shall develop the property for the purposes
substantially as described in the preliminary report, except as may
otherwise be agreed by the proponent and the city, and that prior
to commencement of any improvements will comply with all provisions
of the subdivision ordinances and zoning ordinances of the city.
(b) The proponent shall present with the application an owner's title
policy showing the property being included in the MUD is wholly in
the name of the proponent.
(c) The proponent will pay to the city a filing and processing fee in the amount established in appendix
A to this code. The fee will cover, in addition to review by staff and the engineer, one pre-hearing conference with staff, if requested by the proponent, to review the application and materials to be presented. If requested in writing by the proponent, additional pre-hearing conferences will be scheduled with staff, provided the proponent pays an additional fee in the amount established in appendix
A to this code, in advance, for each additional conference.
(1999 Code, sec. 11.1004; Ordinance
adopting Code)
The following condition shall apply to every MUD within the
city. The minimum size of lots for single-family development shall
be seventy-five (75) feet by one hundred fifteen (115) feet, for a
total lot area of not less than 8,625 square feet.
(1999 Code, sec. 11.1005)
The city reserves the right to impose other specific requirements
relative to a given MUD, which shall be agreed to and set forth in
the consent agreement.
(1999 Code, sec. 11.1006)
It is the policy of the city that a MUD created within the city
should not be abolished until such time as it has retired all of its
outstanding bonded indebtedness, so that the city taxpayers outside
the MUD shall not have to pay off all or any part of the bonded indebtedness
incurred by the MUD. The city does reserve the right to abolish any
MUD, regardless of whether it has any outstanding debt, if it is deemed
to be in the best interest of the city.
(1999 Code, sec. 11.1007)
Any MUD granted permission to be formed within the city limits
under the provisions of this division must receive final approval
for its creation from the state within twenty-four (24) months following
the date of the ordinance granting approval. The consent to a MUD
under the terms and conditions of this division shall be deemed withdrawn
if formal approval of the MUD is not granted by the state within 24
months after the date of the ordinance granting the consent.
(1999 Code, sec. 11.1008)