Fredericksburg, Texas residents were troubled by a number of annexations in their area. The residents retained CEDS to assist in preserving their neighborhood from what appeared to be poorly-planned growth via annexation. The latest proposal would have tripled the number of housing units that could be built on a 39-acre site.

A CEDS analysis revealed the following:

Traffic Impact: The site abuts a 20-foot-wide road. According to a 2016 Texas A&M Transportation Institute Technical Memorandum, A Systemic Approach To Project Selection For Highway Widening, the road could accommodate no more than 400 vehicles per day. With the 50 existing homes along the road, traffic volume was already over the 400 trips/day threshold at 500 trips/day. The proposed annexations would have increased future traffic volume to 2,370 trips/day or six times the 400 trips/day safe level!

School Overcrowding: Another core concern was school overcrowding. Fredericksburg schools already exceeded the 11:1 student:teacher ratio required by Texas law. The two schools most directly affected by the annexations were at 13:1 and 15:1 students:teacher. The proposed annexations could have added another 120 students to the schools.

These issues combined with a strong showing of opposition from area residents prompted the Fredericksburg City Council to deny the 39-acre annexation request on April 15, 2025. The residents wrote the following regarding the assistance provided by CEDS: “I seriously can’t thank you enough!”