By LYNETTE SOWELL-STEVENS
Cove Leader-Press
It has been six years since discussions began for a proposed housing development off Lutheran Church Road.
The development, a project of WBW Development, would be a phased construction of as many as 1,400 homes.
Presently, the more than 300 acres is not within the Copperas Cove city limits, but within the City’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ. It is west of Summers Road and south of Lutheran Church Road.
The developer has sought annexation, but the agreement has had changes, and neither the developer nor the City of Copperas Cove have found common ground for both to sign.
Then, in a 6-1 vote on Tuesday evening, the Copperas Cove city council voted down a proposed revised annexation agreement for Church Mountain. It had previously approved an agreement in December 2025. However, upon that agreement heading back to the developer for final approval, the developer declined to sign. The developers agreed to assume the cost of transferring water service rights and complete a traffic impact analysis (TIA).
However, the snag came about when the developers proposed to build a minor collector instead of a minor arterial and questioned the need for additional mitigation measures.
The discussion Tuesday centered on whether the developer should remain responsible for the roadways that city staff believed were necessary.
Scott Osburn, Public Works Director, said the concern was shifting future infrastructure costs from the developer to the City of Copperas Cove. The developer’s traffic study evaluated only single-family homes and did not account for future duplexes, townhomes, or commercial uses that would generate additional traffic.
According to the city’s engineer the revised proposal could shift approximately $950,000 in roadway obligations to the city, and that additional right-of-way needed for a future roundabout could cost roughly $600,000. The future roundabout would be at the intersection of Summers and Lutheran Church Road. Then, expanding the proposed collector road into the planned arterial later would cost the city another estimated $242,000.
Travis Whitis, VP of Development for WBW, was asked what the options are for the project.
“I think it’s an assumption that we would build a minor arterial, but that’s a very big cost that really our subdivision does not necessitate,” said Whitis. “I’m honestly trying to figure out how to make the development work because really, if we’re expected to pay for all the offsite improvements, we really can’t make this the subdivision work. And financially, it’s not feasible for us to do it.”
The property could still be developed outside the city limits and remain with Kempner Water Supply which holds the water rights to that property.
The Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) was brought up, but the TIRZ has not yet been fully established. There is no guarantee future tax increment revenues would exist or be available for this project.
Councilmember Dale Treadway emphasized his support for growth but said growth must be accompanied by adequate infrastructure and that he was uncomfortable shifting those costs onto city taxpayers.
“The city pays for it, and in the end, that means the taxpayer pays for it, and I’m just not comfortable with that,” Treadway said.
Treadway moved to deny the developer’s revised proposal for the Church Mountain development. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Howard Hawk. After a roll-call vote, the motion passed 6–1, rejecting the developer’s requested changes to the development agreement. The lone aye vote was from Councilmember Jack Smith.
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