Council appoints members to boards, Oks ETJ exchange

By David Stone

The Belton Journal

Belton’s City Council appointed members to several important boards and commissions during this week’s meeting.

Two terms on the Historic Preservation Commission — held by Barrett Covington and Ann Carpenter — are expiring Sept. 8. Covington will retain his seat for another two years, but Carpenter did not want to be reappointed. Ashley Potts was recommended by Mayor David Leigh and approved by

the Council as Carpenter’s replacement.

Martina Martinez was named as an alternate for a two-year term on the Zoning Board of Adjustment. She replaces Judy Owens who was named earlier this month as a regular on the

board.

Jimmy Rowton was reappointed to a three-year term on the Civil Service Commission.

Also Tuesday, Council approved a Title VI Nondiscrimination Plan policy. According to Jo-Ell Guzman, Belton’s grants and special projects coordinator, the US Department of Transportation

requires recipients of federal financial assistance to prepare a plan to clarify their roles,  esponsibilities, and procedures established to ensure compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The City of Belton developed the Title VI Nondiscrimination Plan to ensure compliance with the US Department of Transportation and Texas Department of Transportation, which requires that federal financial assistance be provided on the condition that the recipient provide an assurance that its

programs and activities will be conducted in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The requirement addresses and prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

Title VI is limited explicitly to issues of race, color, and national origin. It is designed to ensure that no person is denied participation in, or the benefits of any federally funded program, simply because of their race, skin color, or national origin.

Council members also approved the exchange of extraterritorial jurisdiction with the city of Temple.

In conjunction with the annexation of the Tyler Ridge Belton property, which is located east of Hubbard Branch, north of FM 436, several areas between the proposed subdivision and the existing city limits are in the city of Temple’s ETJ. These areas prevented Belton from annexing the Tyler Ridge Subdivision.

Several areas were suggested to Temple for an exchange. Temple’s City Council agreed to the exchange during its Aug. 7 meeting.

Generally, areas south of the Leon River could be placed in the Belton ETJ, and the area north of the Leon River could be placed in the Temple ETJ.

According to Belton Development Services Director Bob van Til, the three areas are:

Area A – consisting of approximately 31 acres located south of the Leon River including a portion of a 113.421 acre tract owned by Tamara Elisha Neuwirth and a portion of a 114.94 acre tract of land owned by the Glynda Hubbard Neuwirth Oath Trust generally located along the eastern portion of the Belton ETJ and west of a 113.90 acre tract of land owned by the Tyler Ridge Land Investments, LLC. This area was approved to be in Belton’s ETJ.

Area B – consisting of approximately 18 acres located west of a 113.90 acre tract of land owned by the Tyler Ridge Land Investment, LLC; including the southern portion of a 113.421 tract of land owned by Tamara Elisha Neuwirth located east and south of the eastern extensions of the Belton ETJ, and including the right-of-way of FM436. This area is now in Belton’s ETJ.

Area C – consisting of approximately 64 acres generally located north-east of the Leon River and extending in a north-eastern direction to a point north of Witter Rd., containing portions of property owned by the Wright-Double J Ranch, Inc., James and Cathy Wright, and James R. Lucksinger. This area is now in Temple’s ETJ.

Josh Welch intends to build about 250 single-family homes on the property in the Tyler Ridge Belton addition. He intends to use Belton water and sewer. A recently approved ordinance that requires property owners to annex into Belton if they utilize city utilities requires Welch to voluntarily annex into the city.

The property was mostly in the Temple ETJ, so Welch petitioned the city of Temple to release his property from their ETJ, which they did. The next step was to include the property in Belton’s ETJ. This was accomplished in May 2025. The next steps include the annexation of the property and a zoning change to SF-3, prior to the approval of the plat, construction documents, and the development of the subdivision.

The Belton Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval of the zoning in June.