Georgetown City Council members gave initial approval to a multifamily development near Shell Road and Shell Spur at an April 14 meeting, after an almost three-year process.

What happened

Council members passed a development agreement with NOVA368 for the Shell Spur Public Utility District, which encompasses about 43 acres of land, and includes plans to build multifamily housing and some commercial elements.

The first reading of the agreement includes several modifications aimed at reducing housing density, stricter architectural standards and mandating developer funding for infrastructure improvements.

Council members also voted to annex the site from the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction into city limits, which will prevent the developer from going forward with a plan to provide wastewater services through a package plant, District 5 council member Kevin Pitts said.

“It is absolutely our preference to be able to annex into the city and tie it into the city of Georgetown wastewater infrastructure,” said Amanda Brown, a representative with HD Brown Consulting on behalf of the developer..

By annexing the development, the city can also ensure the PUD adheres to city code guidelines and provides public tax benefits, council members said.

“I want to see the property come into the city limits, and I believe with these changes here, we could address many concerns,” Pitts said. “It may still not be the perfect world of what we would like to see there, but I think it’s better than what’s presented currently, and it’s something I can support.”

What they’re saying

Georgetown resident Keith Cope said although he is opposed to the development, he believes the developer has taken feedback from the Planning and Zoning Commission into account and made significant improvements.

“In a perfect world, we [would] leave this all farmland,” Cope said. “But we recognize the realities that we’re faced with here.”

Residents also said they would prefer having a multifamily development tied into the city wastewater services.

“Do I want these apartments next door? No, but it is a better alternative of the two, I’d rather have that than the wastewater treatment plant,” Georgetown resident Carol Tharpe said.

The history

After an unsuccessful annexation attempt in 2023, the property owners withdrew the site from the ETJ and applied for a state permit to build an independent, on-site wastewater treatment plant.

To avoid the construction of the wastewater plant, the city revisited the development in April 2025 and brought the property back into its ETJ to negotiate a development plan.

The Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to deny the development in both August 2025 and February 2026.

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