Thirty miles east of Dallas is the quiet bedroom community of McLendon-Chisolm. Located in southeast Rockwall County, it's a rural area with green space and land all around, but that's quickly changing.
In recent years McLendon-Chisholm, with a population of about 5,000 people, has attracted an influx of development, and new homes have sprung up throughout the area.
But one development in particular – on 1,800 acres of unincorporated Rockwall County, just outside city limits – has become the subject of a lawsuit filed by developer DR Horton against the county earlier this year. At issue is who should pay for infrastructure to serve the new community.
"When they build these developments, when they're done, they leave," said McLendon-Chisolm Mayor Bryan McNeal.
He said he's not against development in and around his city, but he said builders, including Arlington-based DR Horton, need to help cover costs.
"They leave behind the residents who are in the surrounding areas as well as the city that they just dropped in and the governments have to figure it out," he said. "And they offer zero support."
The River Rock Trails development could eventually include more than 6,000 new homes — and it'll need the infrastructure to serve it, like water and sewer services, new roads, police and fire, even schools. The county sent developers a list of items it wanted covered, including new sheriffs and improvements to an adjacent road.
Rockwall County Judge Frank New said state law gives the county the right to ask developers to share infrastructure costs in certain cases.
Rockwall County Judge Frank New said state law gives the county the right to ask developers to share infrastructure costs in certain cases.
"It's a fairly new law," he said. "It's been there since 2019, so we weren't the first to actually implement the law, and D.R. Horton is challenging our authority."
DR Horton offered to pay for the roads and sheriffs, but after the county denied an application for the development, the company appealed the list, and sued.
DR Horton alleges what the county was asking for wasn't in line with state law, and commissioners blocked River Rock and other developments from moving forward to target the company.
In a statement the company told KERA it has "fully complied with all applicable state and local requirements for this community, including receiving approval by the County's engineering consultants."
New said the county's stance remains unchanged, he said.
"If you're going to come and build what amounts to a city out in the county, you're going to have to provide some city infrastructure," he said. "Number one, you're going to have to prove that you have water, and they've not proven that. And you're going to have a safe community. They've not proven that."
Some McLendon Chisholm residents have also raised concerns about the infrastructure needed to serve the new development.
Speaking at a commissioners court meeting last year, environmentalist Elizabeth Wright asked how the community would be supplied with water.
"We're already under water restrictions in our community out in Rockwall County off of 548, and so my question is how are you going to support those houses if we're already under water restrictions?" she said. "It's unfeasible."
How the dispute between the county and DR Horton plays out could impact other cities: A census report last year found five of the country's fastest growing cities are in North Texas – including Celina, Princeton, Prosper and Forney. Rockwall County grew by 25% between 2020 and 2024.
Princeton last year put in place a moratorium on new development projects, saying the city needed time to assess how its services could keep up with the rapid growth. It's set to expire at the end of the month.
County Judge Frank New said state laws weren't really designed for this speed of development.
"Infrastructure, you know, you plan out 10 years, sometimes 20, sometimes 30 years out ... because growth typically is slow," he said. "The cities can limit that growth and kind of make it come at a pace and scale that they can absorb."
But as more people move to North Texas suburbs, the question of infrastructure is one more communities will have to address.
Priscilla Rice is KERA's communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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