Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes - 04/08/2026 MINUTES
PLANNING &ZONING COMMISSION
April 8, 2026
PRESENT:
Jeremy Woodward • Chairman
Blake Haney ■ vice-chair
Doug McCulloch • Member
Alan Sizemore • Member
Lisa Stephens-Musick ■ Member
Brady Enlow • Member
Michael Grassi • Member
Matt Marrs • Member
Jack Browne • Member
Teresa Rose • SAFB Liaison
Paul Menzies, Assistant City Manager • City Staff
Fabian Medellin, Director of Development Services • City Staff
Rita Miller,Assistant Director of Development Services • City Staff
Monica Aguon, Deputy City Attorney • City Staff
Christal Cates, Neighborhood Revitalization Coordinator Planner II • City staff
•
Robin Marshall, Admin Assistant city staff
ABSENT:
Luz Lerma • Alternate No.1
Naomi Barron • Alternate No.2
Councilor Tom Taylor - Council Liaison
I. CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Jeremy Woodward at 2:00 p.m.
II. PUBLIC COMMENTS
Chairman Woodward asked if there were any comments from the public for items
not on the agenda. With no response, Chairman Woodward closed public
comments.
III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Chairman Woodward called for a motion to adopt the March 11, 2026, minutes.
Commissioner Matt Marrs made a motion to approve the minutes as presented and
Commissioner Jack Browne seconded the motion.
Chairman Woodward opened comments to the public, and there were no additional
comments or discussion by the Commission.
Planning and Zoning 2 April 8, 2026
Chairman Woodward took the motion to vote, and the motion passed unanimously
with a vote of 9-0 in favor.
IV. CONSENT AGENDA
P26-16—Martin Addition, Lot 1, Block 2
Chairman Woodward asked if anything needs to be brought down to the regular
agenda, and Director Fabian Medellin stated there was not. Commissioner Jack
Browne made the motion to approve the consent agenda and Commissioner Matt
Marrs seconded the motion. With no comments from the public or the Commission,
a vote was taken, and the motion passed with a vote of 9-0.
V. REGULAR AGENDA
Commissioner Woodward opened the Public Hearing at 2:02pm.
1. R 26-03 2100 & 2226 Airport Drive & 3601 Central Freeway—
PUD
Consider taking to rezone 2100 & 2226 Airport Drive and 3601 Central Freeway
(+/- 95.82 Acres of Land from the T. Currey Survey, Abstract— 344 and +/-21.11
Acres of Land from the R. Brown Survey, Abstract — 522) from General
Commercial (GC), Multi-Family Residential (MFR), and Light Industrial (LI) to a
Planned Unit Development — Commercial Use (PUD-CU) zoning district to allow
for the special use of a data center.
Applicant: Joe Bloodworth
Director Fabian Medellin presented the case and noted that this item was previously
presented in a slightly different form in February. At that time the Applicant was
seeking a rezone of 116 acres from three different zoning districts to one. At that
time, they were seeking conversion to a light industrial district to allow for a data
center. That action was approved by this commission and presented to the City
Council. However, at that City Council meeting, it was tabled due to some
concerns regarding mitigation efforts and potential uses not in line with the
requested use for a data center, particularly cryptocurrency mining. During that
time period in between City Council meetings, the applicant withdrew their petition.
Since then, they have met with staff and have resubmitted a rezone. This petition is
for a Planned Unit Development, which is slightly different from your typical base
layer zoning changes. This uniquely crafted regulation, by the applicants' request
Planning and Zoning 3 April 8, 2026
and our recommendation, self-regulates a lot of those concerns presented to City
Council, with regard to impacts to adjacent properties and those alternate uses
allowed under light industrial zoning.
Director Medellin identified the tract of land and showed maps and slide showing
the location and surrounding areas. The property is just north of Airport Drive just
between Spur 325 and 1-44, and the land is completely undeveloped right now.
There is a railroad line along the northeast side, and there is a manufactured home
park and church on the south side of Airport Drive. Just to the west is the vacant
former call center, as well as some industrial supplies dealers. To the north is some
additional vacant land. Additionally, to the northeast are some self-storage mini
warehouse uses as well as an apartment complex. He showed the zoning
boundaries and districts as they lay today and pointed out that there are three
different districts: Light Industrial, which borders the railroad on the northeast;
General Commercial, which borders the frontage of Airport Drive; and then just
tucked behind that is the Multi-Family Residential Zoning district.
Views of the subject property were shown, as well as a view south of the property to
the neighboring church. Additional views to the east and west were shown just to
present the surrounding areas and neighboring uses. The applicant presented a
site plan to staff consisting of nine buildings. Each one 150,000 square feet. Staff
worked with the applicant to craft these PUD regulations that would help mitigate
any kind of negative impact, limit the site plan or the layout of the development of
the property to this specific site plan. This petition today would change those base
layer zones to this new unit development. Staff created this PUD in a way to still
allow the landowners some flexibility and that is essentially similar to an overlay
district. The uses that are currently allowed in the Multi-Family/ General
Commercial/Light Industrial zoning boundaries will still be allowed if this is
approved. However, if they opt to deviate from those allowed uses, they do
have the privilege, and by this PUD, with some special regulations, would be
allowed to develop that data center conforming to that master plan that was just
shown to the board. The applicant limited themselves on a layout, and have
defined what a data center is, and what a cryptocurrency mining center is.
They have distinguished those two uses, and prohibit the cryptocurrency. In
addition to that they have opted to self-regulate some of the concerns that were
heard at City Council regarding noise. Director Medellin pointed out an excerpt
of the ordinance that deals with decibel level allowances at neighboring uses'
property lines. For residential uses, they would be limited to just during
daytime hours, typically 6am to 9pm by our ordinances. (Limited to 65
decibels, which is common conversation levels.) At nighttime, (a little bit
lowered) 55, which is comparable to raindrops sprinkling on the house.
Commercial uses have some higher allowances, 70 to 75 during the day,
comparable to a vacuum cleaner. And then at night it drops. On the
neighboring Industrial sites, the allowances are a little bit higher, 80 to 85, which is
Planning and Zoning 4 April 8, 2026
comparable to a loud restaurant or dining hall, but those rates would drop at night.
The applicants have opted to regulate concerns with regard to lighting, limiting
themselves to half a foot candle at their property line, so essentially preventing any
kind of glare or direct lighting on adjacent properties. He added that the concern of
traffic would be addressed through an impact analysis. A study would be presented
during the construction plan review phase, produced by a traffic engineer, that
would study the projected traffic coming to and leaving the site, as well as how it
would affect neighboring uses, and then outlining necessary measures to take to
help reduce any kind of impacts to those traffic increases. Finally, screening
and aesthetics, that would be regulating the noise producers, the coolers, the
HVAC, the mechanical equipment. Those would all need to be screened and
not visible from right of ways, or adjacent properties. They would be limited to
the master plan. There are slight allowances, or exceptions for deviations
whether it's due to slight shifting of a building due to engineering or civil work that
is required. But if it is outside of that type of exception, that would have to come
before this Commission, and City Council as well, to amend the Planned Unit
development Master Plan. Lastly, there was an allowance there for construction
workforce housing. They would receive the benefit of allowing for on-site
construction housing during the time of active permits, and then after the
certificate of occupancy is issued for one of those primary structures, they would
either have to have a secondary permit for the next building or remove those
housing units within a certain period of time. Director Medellin told the Board that
staff sent out notices to property owners within 200 feet, in total 26 notices. Eight
of those notices returned were in favor. We had one response that was
received, that was outside of the notification area. (That response was included
in the handout for the Commissioners.)
Staff does recommend the approval of the rezoning request of 2100 and
2226 Airport Drive, as well as 3601 Central Freeway, from Multi-Family
Residential, General Commercial and Light Industrial to the Planned Unit
Development Commercial use to allow for that special use purpose of a data
center.
Chairman Woodward asked if the applicant, or any of his partners, would like to
add anything at this time. Mr. Brad Altman introduced himself and said he is
helping the applicant with the legal part of this project. He then introduced
Stephen McDaniel and Ryan Smith, pointing out that Mr. McDaniel is on the
development side of the project and Mr. Smith, who works with Trane, is here to
answer any questions or concerns with regards to water usage.
Chairman Woodward asked if any Commissioners had any questions before
the floor was opened to the public.
Planning and Zoning 5 April 8, 2026
Commissioner Doug McCulloch asked what kind of impact they anticipate out there
low
during the construction phase? He also asked about the impact on our power grid,
and asked about the impact on water as well? His last question was regarding the
on-site housing plan and asked them to lay that out for the Commission. Answering
the question on the specifics of the power grid, Stephen stated that it is something
they can't really answer yet because they haven't gone fully through the queue
process with Oncor. The first set is making sure that zoning is structured and set up
so that we can start moving forward and see what we can do on that side of things.
He said there isn't anything that they are hiding, but there is no way to give you a
true answer on that just yet. Mr. McCulloch stated that the units are 150,000
square feet each, and they are going to have a certain consumption of electricity.
He added, you don't have any power of your own that you are supplying, including
solar, so this is all going to come from the grid, is that correct? Stephen replied that
is not 100% correct. He continued, if we can't pull all the power that is needed for
all the facilities from the grid, there is a gas line that runs through that site, so there
may be the option to go that route. At this time, Mr. McDaniel stated that their team
will not be the end user/developer and said they would be partnering with a group to
bring them in and manage that process with them. Regarding traffic impact, he said
they won't know that until they go through a study, which would cost $20,000 -
$50,000 depending on how large that study needs to be. With housing, that would
be very temporary based on the different sizes of the properties. Construction jobs
New
created may be in the tune of 1,000 to 5,000. Mr. McDaniel then said that's not
something that they can answer fully because they won't be the general contractor
planning all of that out. Some of that will depend on how many workers can be
used from the Wichita Falls and surrounding communities, and how many are
coming from other parts of the state. Mr. McCulloch said that Mr. McDaniel didn't
give him any answers to his questions. He said, considering that you're asking the
Commission to vote on this, you don't have any idea how many pads will be placed
for temporary housing, you don't know what the grid will look like. He continued and
said, this board has a little more flexibility to ask more questions and probe a little
deeper. Mr. McDaniel replied that he is not the vertical developer of this project
and explained that they are the land group. Their goal is to get the land set up so
they can bring business in. He added that whenever his team brings that company
to the table to have these conversations with the Commission, then he will ask them
all the questions the board has, because it will be the other group's plans. He
said they are just helping to get the land structured in such a way to where it's a
positive on the development side, and a positive to the city, adding that they are
not quite into the process that far yet.
Commissioner Jack Browne stated that he has been following what has been
happening in data centers, and he is confident with the group using a closed loop
Planning and Zoning 6 April 8, 2026
system that will ameliorate most of the concerns, because the impact on water is on
the order of being equivalent to a few hundred homes. He said the technology is
rapidly changing, and Mr. Browne also noted that the biggest value is the fact that
the Oklaunion Plant has a coal generating plant. They built out a huge electrical
infrastructure of 345 kilovolt and 138 kilovolts, with 138 going through their property
already. The fact that there's also been wind and solar in the area also helps that
we really do have a surplus of power locally that can be brought to bear without
putting impact on the rest of the user base. He felt that these things are what
makes this an attractive opportunity for Wichita Falls. Mr. McDaniel followed up,
saying that they are not asking for anything more than what is going to be available
from that power currently across the site. If they need more power, that is when
they will try to tap into alternative sources, whether that be battery, gas or other
sources.
Chairman Woodward said, while he appreciates that, he wanted to remind the
Commission members and inform the public that the board is here to vote on the
planned unit development. While there are concerns, the purview of this
Commission is Planning and Zoning, and that is what the board is here to keep
focused on. While there will be questions that may go outside of that scope, he
wants to make sure they are in line and that they are clear with the public that they
are here to vote on, to give approval to City Council, about the planned unit
development —the zoning aspect, and the transition from what the current zoning is
to this PUD
After asking and finding that there were no additional questions or comments from
the Commission, Chairman Woodward opened the floor to comments from the
public.
Mr. Charlie Peters cited his concerns about water, and the lack of it in this
community. The Brazos Water District just issued a stage one drought
announcement. They have asked people to curtail their water use voluntarily by
5%. He noted that there are injunctions in East of Dallas to stop all these data
centers. He said it is a water issue. He then questioned if we would cap the data
centers off regarding water, and if they get so much water and that is it, will we cut
them off and they are done? Or do they start paying double the rate, or triple the
rate? He asked if other people would suffer? Will Sheppard AFB suffer because
the data center will be consuming a lot of water? He then questioned the noise,
and said they do make a lot of noise, and he feels that is the wrong location for the
City of Wichita Falls to put data centers. He stated that there are businesses going
in over in that location, and people building right across from Wichita Falls. Putting
a data center in will hurt the area. He is against the data center being there, and
said don't flirt with changing the zoning and give them a foothold in.
Planning and Zoning 7 April 8, 2026
Mr. Ryan Smith, with Trane Commercial Systems in Dallas, stepped to the podium.
He gave some of his background and stated that he was asked to talk about water
usage on data centers. He understands that concern and explained how date
centers are being built in the modem day. It has changed and progressed over the
years. They used to use the open cooling towers a long time ago, and those do
consume about 2 to 3 gallons per minute per 100 tons of air conditioning. But he
explained that that is not what they are doing now. Mr. Smith explained the closed
loop systems and said once the water is charged in the loop, they use water just to
transfer heat. It never leaves the pipes, it never gets evaporated, and it never drifts
out of a cooling tower. They have transitioned to different types of products that
save a tremendous amount of water. He stated that this site is set up to produce
about a 350-megawatt data center. With that, you will need water to charge the
pipes, and that will need to be done twice. Your charge once, you flush, then you
charge again. That will take about half a million gallons, 5000,000 gallons of water
just to get the pipes charged. Once it is in the pipes, it never leaves. If this was a
traditional system, and we were building traditional cooling towers, the amount of
water that would be consumed would be a tremendous amount of water. This site
will be a closed loop system. The amount of water that will be consumed at this
building will be just like office type space. There will be a little bit of water that is
consumed in the winter months when it's very dry out. We have to add a little bit of
humidity to the space to keep the humidity up, to keep the GPUs and the equipment
4401,
from arcing. That is only about 25,000 gallons in the winter months, a very small
amount of water.
Mr. David Gray, from Burkbumett, had a few questions. He asked if they are going
to be like Skybox, and are they going to be leasing buildings? Do they already
have customers lined up? Mr. McDaniel said, no, it's a land speculation play. Mr.
Gray then asked, what about a financial partner? Mr. McDaniel responded that they
have regular financial partners that they work with across different types of projects.
Mr. Gray asked, when they have a partner for this project, can they be made public.
Mr. McDaniel responded, potentially, and added it depends on how wrapped up
they are in confidentiality. Mr. Gray stated that the financial partner for Sky box is
Blue Owl Capital, and if you Google that, you will find out that they are in trouble.
Mr. Gregory Hall said he felt there were a lot of questions that were not answered.
He understands the closed loop system and understands not having a
comprehensive plan on electric. He stated that he feels most citizens would like to
know exactly how much water will be used before we put a seal of approval on this.
He asked about the electric that will be needed and noted the recent freeze our
area has experienced and noted that ERGOT could not handle the demand. He
ended with asking, water, electricity and noise — what's going to happen in those
specific categories?
Planning and Zoning 8 April 8, 2026
Mr. Smith responded, saying, "I'm here to address that. We, as per most cities'
approval processes for permits or anything else, are happy to and we will divulge all
the information depending on who our partner is. Whenever we start going through
that permit approval process, however that looks like, whatever that needs to look
like, we're happy to be fully transparent on that side. I wish I could give you more
answers. We're just at the land speculation stage. It's hard to give anything outside
of what we believe we can pull power-wise from a power line and/or a gas line.
That's kind of our hindrance right now. So, I hope there's more clarification I can
give to you as we continue to walk through this process. But right now, we're kind of
hands tied."
Director Medellin was asked to briefly speak on if the board was to approve the
PUD, what would the next steps be that the developers would have to go through
for developing and getting approval for the data center. He explained that zoning is
not an automatic approval of everything for this data center, this is only one step.
Following this meeting, staff will prepare this agenda item to be presented to City
Council. Ultimately, City Council will decide yes or no to adopt this ordinance and
to reclassify these 116 acres. If they do decide to approve said ordinance for this
PUD, then that gives the development team some rein and some leeway to go
ahead and begin the designs for all the engineering, all the civil work, all of the
mechanical engineering to really identify and isolate those specific numbers that we
are talking about. There will be continued development meetings with staff and the
applicant leading up to permitting. That would transpire over a couple of different
permits, everything from grading to the actual building. Each individual building
would be permitted. Solar would still be permitted, and if they opt for that, it would
be necessary for us to seek approval from Sheppard AFB. Each individual building
would be issued certificates of occupancy once they get through permitting and the
construction (building one building at a time with up to 6,000 working at a given
time). When they are issued the Certificates of Occupancy, that is when they would
be allowed to operate the data centers. The City Council has the final say. If this
Commission votes no, Director Medellin explained that the City Council still has the
authority to vote for either yes or no. When it comes to zoning boundary changes
or amendments, P82 acts as an advisory committee. If this Committee denies a
recommendation of approval, that will then necessitate City Council having a
supermajority for their approval of the PUD. He then spoke about how this PUD
runs with the land and how that affects staffs ability to hold developers to the fire.
Director Medellin said what staff has crafted is an ordinance that would limit them to
either one of those uses that are currently allowed within one of those three zoning
districts, or a data center limited to that specific site plan with these specific
regulations that will mitigate those potential impacts. When it comes to noise, the
systems that they do develop are still going to be limited to these decibel level
requirements at those adjacent property lines. We are crafting this ordinance for
this specific development with these specific guidelines, and that will remain until
Planning and Zoning 9 April 8, 2026
City Council — or petition comes through and City Council votes otherwise. So,
regardless of who owns the property, they will have to develop for one of the
allowed uses, or for the data center to these specifications.
When Chairman Woodward asked again if anyone in the audience would like to say
anything, Mr. George Bailey came forward and expressed concerns saying the
noise would vibrate those homes 24 hours a day. He also mentioned the
elementary school that is nearby and stated that no one had even mentioned the
school. He also noted a second mobile home park 1,100 feet away.
In response to the question of vibration, one of the representatives spoke a little
about vibration and noise, and how they design modern buildings to mitigate noise
and vibration. He stated that on a data center this large, it does take a considerable
amount of equipment to cool the building. The heat rejection equipment is outside
typically on the roofs or adjacent to the buildings. With technology advancements
and compressor technology and sound attenuating materials, we can meet a 55dB
rating at the property line. Code, in Wichita Falls, is 60, and he said he is confident
that they could beat that by 5 decibels. Speaking on vibrations, he said absorbing
vibrations off the compressors is just a different technology than it was several
years ago. It operates at a lower frequency, and the structures can absorb the
vibration. He added that as the equipment is running, the building is absorbing the
vibration, it doesn't leave the property, so there will be no vibration from any of the
law
equipment on the building that leaves the property to the property line. He said
they are very cautious of how they mitigate vibration and noise and said there
would be no vibration from the equipment even into the building, because that
would harm the data center.
Ms. Peggy York asked if the developers would be paying for their industrial power
lines and all the great changes that need to be made, or will that be allocated to the
payers in the city? The answer to her question from Mr. McDaniel was, "typically
what they require is for us to pay the upfront cost for most of the build-out for the
power infrastructure for this. That's kind of part of the deal." Ms. York responded,
"most of it?' Mr. McDaniel stated, "When I say most of it, I say that because I don't
know what that full expectation of cost is going to be to us. And in some regards,
there's already infrastructure in place, and so there's only so much that we would
have to build out. But anything that's going to be on our site if we are managing
that, or, or if there's a third party managing that, they're expected to pay for that."
Ms. York followed up with "For the record, I would like to make sure that they have
to pay for any of those costs because people are struggling in this town already."
Mr. McDaniel then added, "I think our client who buys it is going to make sure of
that too."
When there was no one else that wished to make any comments, Chairman
Woodward closed the public hearing at 2:49 and asked if there was a motion to
approve the case. Mr. Jack Browne made the motion to approve and for the
Planning and Zoning 10 April 8, 2026
Commission to recommend the case to City Council. Commissioner Alan Sizemore
seconded the motion.
Chairman Woodward stated that this is closed to public discussion, but we will open
for discussion among the Commission, but there was no additional questions or
comments among the Commission members. He then moved on to a vote, and the
motion passed with a unanimous vote of 9-0.
2. Workshop— PH 2601 for Temporary Workforce Housing
The Public Hearing was declared open by Chairman Woodward at 2:50 pm and
started discussion for the proposed text amendments for code ordinances, Appendix B
zoning ordinances, for the addition of permitted temporary workforce housing
development regulations and enforcement.
Director Medellin gave the presentation and noted that they have been talking about
providing a solution to the incoming wave of contractors because of these large
projects that are in the region. He explained that today is just an actual draft of said
text amendments. This will just be a discussion item, to gain the Commissioners
feedback, and to gain feedback from the public as well.
Director Medellin said he would go through section by section of the ordinance. The
first section being RV's (temporary use vehicles.)
Proposed Text Amendment
Section 5610—General Regulations
H. Temporary vehicles like RVs or campers cannot be stored or parked on empty lots
or properties without a main structure in the city. The only exceptions are approved
storage yards or self-storage facilities.
I. Living or sleeping in a temporary vehicle within the city isn't allowed unless it's
in an approved location, such as a manufactured home park, RV park, or a temporary
workforce housing site.
There is not a lot of language about RV's and them being prohibited on vacant lots.
Now we would like to add some language specifically, outlining that it's unlawful to
park them on vacant lots and then as well occupy them as residents on vacant lots as
well. He explained that a main structure on a lot means if you have a house, you can
still park it there, but you would not be able to occupy it as a residence. As long as
there is a main structure, whether it is a residence or a commercial business, they can
Planning and Zoning 11 April 8, 2026
be parked there. But they cannot be occupied as a residence, unless approved in one
of the three approved locations.
1. Purpose and Intent for the Ordinance
It is to support that economic development and major construction activity, to ensure
the housing is developed in a safe, orderly fashion, prevent long-term unintended
residential encroachments into non-residential areas, and then provide a regulatory
framework for development located within the city as well as within the extraterritorial
jurisdiction, so the ETJ of the city, which now falls outside the city limits.
2. Definitions
Temporary workforce housing - Residential development consists consisting of
manufactured homes, industrialized homes, or temporary use vehicles, aka RVs,
intended to house workers employed in construction on— for Wichita Falls economic
development-based activities for a limited duration.
Raw land-just land that is undeveloped without any kind of permanent structure or for
infrastructure.
A pilot agreement, essentially an acronym for payment in lieu of taxes, that allows for
the city to enter into an agreement for city services generally outside of, of the city
limits. And a certificate of convenience and necessity, that is a certificate supplied to a
utility provider by the Public Utilities Commission. that is with regard to water sewer
suppliers outside the city limits
3. Applicability
It's specifically for these petitions for workforce housing in relation to one of these
large economic development projects, both within the city and within the ETJ.
4. Permitted locations
These are raw land within the ETJ, that is existing industrial properties, so within the
city limits, zoned industrial, or raw land with existing residential zoning, so inside city
limits when public infrastructure is intended to be part of the temporary housing
development.
Director Medellin pointed out multiple large areas on a zoning map, of land that was
annexed and never granted a permanent zoning designation. They automatically
Planning and Zoning 12 April 8, 2026
defaulted to, when annexed, to the base level zoning of Single Family-1 zoning. A
lot of those areas are rural, wide open and undeveloped. Staff felt this was an
opportunity to use this temporary housing with permanent infrastructure to
then support redevelopment into a housing subdivision.
5. Approval Process
Anyone wanting to build a temporary workforce housing site must go through a
Conditional Use Permit process. The Planning and Zoning Commission reviews and
approves the request. Applicants have to submit plans showing things like the site
layout, utilities, traffic access, how the site will operate, how long it will be used, and
proof that the housing is connected to an economic development project.
6. Development Standards
This section outlines the requirements for designing and operating the site. The site
must provide safe access for emergency vehicles, adequate parking, proper lighting,
and buffering from nearby properties, trash and sanitation services, and stormwater
management if needed. Each housing unit must have water, sewer, and electrical
connections that meet city and state regulations. The allowed housing types include
industrialized homes, manufactured homes, and temporary vehicles like RVs.
Building code requirements for electrical, plumbing, and all typical utilities will need
to be met. There will need to be individual pad sites for said RV's if that's the
route, or actual connections to prefabricated homes. They will all have to be
connected directly to either city sewer services or have an approved onsite
septic system, which is reviewed through the Heath department and regulated
through TCEQ as well.
7. ETJ and Pilot Agreements
Temporary workforce housing can also be allowed in the ETJ if it meets the ordinance
requirements and a PILOT agreement is in place when city services are extended
outside city limits. Larger agreements may require City Council approval.
8. Utility Service and CCN Consideration
If a proposed site falls within another utility provider's service area, the developer
must coordinate with that provider or resolve the issue before moving forward. The city
will not process the permit until utility service rights are clearly settled.
Planning and Zoning 13 April 8, 2026
The Public Utility Commission outlines these geographic areas that those utility
providers reserve the right to provide their utility in those areas. There are areas
outside city limits that are outside those external utility providers, just unincorporated
Wichita County. We would then have the right to, within a pilot agreement, serve those
areas. However, if one of those areas is within a CCN of a neighboring water provider,
we wouldn't be able to accept their application until a couple things happen. One is
either they seek out a release from that utility provider to allow us then to provide that
utility, or they formally dispute that CCN and dispute it with the Public Utility
Commission. Or the easiest solution is to opt for an annexation, because if it's
annexed, we'd still have to follow all the annexation procedures and processes and
limitations. But at that point, if you're within the city limits of Wichita Falls, we are the
sole utility provider for water and sewer. For those residential areas or areas outside
of city limits where a developer seeks to either expand, annex, or has grander plans
for the second life of their site, we will be willing to accept that infrastructure if that
infrastructure follows the typical standard processes Those are all designed by
engineers, whether it's water, sewer. Those plans are then approved by our
engineering department. That infrastructure is inspected by our staff during the
construction period, and then once it's all built, accepted by city, that is protected via
easements and maintenance bonds for a short period after. But that's an option
available to those developers if they do choose that route. Otherwise, it would be just
public utilities subject to standard building codes or any kind of internal utilities to
service the workforce sites.
9. Infrastructure and Public Acceptance
Infrastructure built for these developments must meet city standards. If it does, the
city may choose to accept it as public infrastructure. If not, it stays private and must
be maintained by the owner. Once the temporary housing use ends, the site generally
needs to be returned to its previous condition unless infrastructure has been formally
accepted for public use.
10. Duration and Expiration
A Temporary workforce housing permit is valid for one year. Extensions can be
requested if the related project is still ongoing and the site remains in compliance. If
the permit expires, the housing must be removed and the site restored within six
months with the exception of public improvements or improvements part of
redevelopment.
11. Operational Standards
Planning and Zoning 14 April 8, 2026
These housing sites are only for workers tied to a regional construction or economic .4100
development project. They cannot be used for permanent living, short-term rentals,
or hotel-style lodging. Each site must also have on-site management to make sure the
rules are followed.
12. Enforcement
The City's Development Services Department is responsible for enforcing the
ordinance. Violations may include operating without a permit, not following
approved plans, unauthorized occupancy, or failing to remove the housing when
required. Penalties can include citations, permit revocation, fines, utility
disconnection, or other legal actions.
There was extensive discussion between staff and the Commissioners, especially on
term limits, and lengths of possible extensions. Also discussed was on-site
management, that would be employed by the developer of the land, or just some
designated person.
Chairman Woodward asked if there was anyone in the audience that would like to
speak before the public hearing is closed. One gentleman complimented Director
Medellin and stated that all of his questions had been answered.
Director Medellin stated that he would like to have this before the Commission for a .000
recommendation next month, and then at City Council in June.
The Public Hearing was closed by Chairman Woodward at 3:42 pm.
VI. OTHER BUSINESS
There was no other business discussed.
VII. ADJOURN
Chairman Woodward adjou a -. e meeting at 3:42 pm.
5//3/
Jer=- y •o• and -Ch/- an Date
5-
abi edellin,AICP— irectoro velopment Services Date