Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Lewisville to consider council districts after annexing community

The city if Lewisville is about to annex a large master-planned community into the east side of the city, which will add more than 18,000 residents to the city and is expected to change major aspects of the City Council.

The vision for Castle Hills — a now 2,900-acre community with more than 4,500 single-family homes, 1,000 apartments and townhomes, lots of office and retail space and more — began in 1982. The annexation process has taken years, and it finally becomes official at 12:01 a.m. Monday, according to a city news release. A family-friendly Annexation Celebration is scheduled for Nov. 20 at Queen Margaret Community Center Park. Click here for more information.

Because of the huge increase in Lewisville residents caused by the annexation, the city will consider adding a council seat and creating residential districts, which is triggered by city charter provisions upon a large annexation.

Currently, Lewisville has five City Council members elected at-large, and the mayor only votes in case of a tie among council members. Upon annexation, all council members (not the mayor) will be elected from six residential districts with about 20,000 residents in each. The proposed residential district system would require a council candidate (not the mayor) to reside in the district they’re running for. It would not restrict voters to the district they live in; the entire city will vote for each council race, according to a city news release.

“A residential district system ensures that members of the council come from all areas of the city, but all are elected from the entire city and presumably will have a citywide perspective,” the news release said.

Lewisville City Council will hear public comments on the proposed residential districts during Monday night’s City Council meeting.

Mark Smith
Mark Smith
Mark Smith is the Digital Editor of The Cross Timbers Gazette.

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