Session topics and times are subject to change without notice.
Thursday, August 20
Land Use Essentials
8:00-9:00 a.m.
Registration
9:00 a.m.
Welcome
9:05-9:50 a.m.
City Jurisdiction, City Types, ETJ, and Annexation
Not all Texas cities are created equal — a city’s type, charter status, and boundaries define the scope of its regulatory authority. This session will cover the differences between home rule and general law cities, where and how cities can exercise land use authority within their limits and extraterritorial jurisdiction, and how recent legislative changes have reshaped annexation in Texas.
Cristian Rosas-Grillet, Legal Counsel, Texas Municipal League
9:55-10:40 a.m.
Regulation of Uses: Zoning
Zoning is the foundational tool cities use to shape how land is used, developed, and redeveloped across their communities. This session will cover zoning classifications, the amendment process, special use permits, and the legal limits of zoning authority under Texas law. Attendees will leave with a practical understanding of how zoning works as both a legal framework and a planning instrument.
Aliceson Cotton, Senior Attorney, Messer Fort
10:40-10:50 a.m.
Break
10:50-11:20 a.m.
Board of Adjustment
Sometimes the general rule produces an unreasonable result in a specific case. This session will explain how boards of adjustment are authorized under Texas law to grant variances and special exceptions to the zoning ordinance, what legal standards must be met, and how cities can run an effective and defensible BOA process.
Joseph J. Gorfida Jr., Managing Partner, Nichols Jackson
11:25 a.m.-12:10 p.m.
Platting and Subdivision
Subdivision regulations are how cities ensure that new development connects properly to infrastructure, roads, and utilities — and that the costs of growth are fairly allocated. This session will walk through plat procedures, statutory deadlines and the shot clock, dedication requirements, and the practical realities of moving a subdivision through the approval process.
Stephanie Huser, Legal Counsel, Texas Municipal League; and Sofia Nelson, CNU
12:10-1:10 p.m.
Lunch
12:25–1:10 p.m.
Water Rights (working lunch presentation)
Water availability is one of the most consequential — and most misunderstood — variables in Texas land development. This session will provide a practical overview of how surface water and groundwater rights work in Texas and how cities and developers interact with water law in the development context.
Natasha J. Martin, Graves Dougherty
1:15-2:00 p.m.
Impact Fees
Impact fees are one of a city’s most important tools for ensuring that new development pays its fair share of the infrastructure costs it generates — but implementing and updating them correctly requires navigating a detailed statutory process. This panel will walk through the full lifecycle of an impact fee program, from the capital improvements plan through adoption, collection, and periodic updates, with an emphasis on how the process works in practice rather than just on paper.
Tad Cleaves, Assistant General Counsel, Texas Municipal League
2:05-2:50 p.m.
Water Emergencies: Preparedness, Response, and Prevention
Water scarcity is no longer a distant threat for many Texas cities — communities across South Texas have recently declared or are contemplating water emergencies, and the conditions driving those decisions are spreading. This session will cover what a water emergency is, the legal and operational framework for declaring and managing one, and what cities can do now to prepare their systems and reduce the risk of facing one.
Cody Faulk, Partner, Spencer Fane
2:50-3:05 p.m.
Break
3:10-3:55 p.m.
MUDs, PIDs, and Other Special Districts
MUDs and PIDs are among the most commonly used financing tools in Texas development — and cities that don’t understand them are at a disadvantage. This session will cover how these districts are created, how they function, and what role cities play in consenting to or shaping their use, including how cities can use them strategically to direct growth and protect long-term fiscal health.
Skye Masson, City Attorney, City of Georgetown
4:00-4:45 p.m.
Working with Developers
Large and well-funded developers often bring teams of attorneys and consultants to the table — and city staff and elected officials can find themselves outpaced before the conversation even begins. This panel is designed to change that dynamic. Drawing on experience from the legal, administrative, and elected sides of the table, panelists will discuss how to structure negotiations, ask the right questions, hold developers to their commitments, and keep the community’s long-term interests at the center of every land use decision.
5:00 p.m.
Embassy Suites Happy Hour
Continue the conversation after the conference sessions conclude by networking with fellow attendees at the Embassy Suites happy hour available from 5:00-7:30 p.m. Complimentary drinks and snacks are available for hotel guests, and non-hotel guests may purchase beverages.
Friday, August 21
Applying the Law to Practice: Choose Your City’s Adventure!
This half-day session uses an interactive panel format to walk attendees through a fictional large-scale development — Horizon Crossing, an 850-acre mixed-use project combining residential, commercial, and data center uses in the city’s ETJ. Rather than a traditional lecture, the session unfolds as a live scenario with the audience as part of the city team. At key decision points, attendees will vote on what the city should do next, and the panel will react, correct, and explain. The session is designed to be engaging and practical, reinforcing the legal and regulatory concepts from Day One through applied, realistic problem-solving.
Tad Cleaves, Assistant General Counsel, Texas Municipal League; Skye Masson, City Attorney, City of Georgetown; and Brandon Pritchard, Deputy City Manager, and Robyn Miga, Planning Director, City of Liberty Hill; and Laura Mueller, Attorney, Baker Robertson & O’Brien
9:00-9:10 a.m.
Welcome and Overview of the Hypothetical Scenario
Introduction of the panel and presentation of the development fact pattern. Attendees receive a one-page project summary to reference throughout the session and access to an app to register votes when appropriate.
9:10-10:25 a.m.
Part One: Getting to the Table
The panel works through the city’s early decision points — utility service, ETJ leverage, development agreements and data center conditions, and perhaps annexation and zoning. Audience polling at key moments drives the discussion.
10:25-10:40 a.m.
Break
10:40-12:00 p.m.
Part Two: Into the Weeds
The panel addresses platting and the shot clock, phasing, data center conditions – if any – and any potential city participation in the project. Audience polling continues as the panel works through the remaining challenges. As with any good choose-your-own-adventure story, the ending is entirely up to the audience — the city could come out with a win-win, or it could get eaten by a shark. Who knows? The panel makes no guarantees.