Tag Archives: building ban

local news

What’s happening at Princeton’s City Hall?

What in the name of tumult and tempest is going on at Princeton City Hall? I’m not covering it directly, but sources inside the place tell me there’s major chaos afoot.

Get a load of this: The city in the course of about three weeks has fired its legal counsel, lost its fire chief, who left to join another city’s fire department, accepted the sudden resignation of its interim city manager and then appointed its chief of police as its newest interim chief municipal executive.

All of this comes as the city awaits another Census Bureau report on municipal growth and Princeton, I am told, is likely to learn that it retains its standing as the fastest-growing city in the United States of America.

All of this has me shaking my noggin and wondering whether the city ever will be able to wrap its arms around the confusion that permeates City Hall.

Of the personnel upheaval that has upset city governance, the resignation of the city manager perhaps is most stunning. The mayor, Victor Escobar, had expressed supreme confidence in the fellow they hired to succeed Mike Mashburn, who resigned just short of being on the job for two years. Mashburn wasn’t cutting it, so he quit effective immediately. There was no “buyout” associated with his resignation, which tells me the City Council is glad he’s gone.

Then came the decision to elevate Police Chief Jim Waters as interim city manager, giving Waters a second full-time job in addition to protecting Princeton’s residents against bad guys. Maybe it’s just me, but I am trying to understand how Waters will be able to do both jobs well enough to maintain a firm grip on the issues that affect either of them.

Last I heard, the city slapped a building ban on new residential construction to enable the city shore up its police and fire protection. Then it had to reinstate the construction because the Legislature slapped limits on the number of such bans cities could invoke. The city still lacks sufficient police and fire protection because of the growth explosion that is still underway.

City governance is no walk in the park. In Princeton, Texas — a place I am proud to call home — such governance seems to be getting dangerously close to impossible.

local news

City falls short on building ban goals

All righty, kids, where does the city of Princeton, Texas, stand in its effort to prepare for the deluge of new residents wanting to call this North Texas city home?

The city council voted recently to rescind a building moratorium it had declared a year or so ago. The council decided to stop issuing building permits for new homes and apartments because it needed to shore up its infrastructure to prepare for the ongoing tidal wave of new residents.

Did the city succeed? Uhhh … no. Not even close. The Princeton Herald reports that the 2025 Legislature enacted laws aimed at preventing future building bans. So the city was left with no choice but to start issuing building permits.

What about the infrastructure, you know, the streets, sewer, water and emergency services personnel the city said it needs to shore up? A few streets have been improved. Near as I can tell the water and sewer systems are as they were when the ban took effect. Police and fire? I hear that Police Chief Jim Waters asked for seven new officers; he got two. The fire department is equally short staffed.

As a taxpaying resident of this rapidly growing community, I am asking: What the hell is going on at City Hall? City Manager Mike Mashburn walked into something of a bee’s nest when he took the job held for all those years by former Manager Derek Borg. There’s now an active recall movement afoot against at least one incumbent city council member and I understand that Mayor Eugene Escobar has signed on in support of one of the recall efforts. What in the world … ?

All the while, the city continues to struggle with providing the infrastructure it said was necessary when it enacted a building ban on new single-family homes and apartment complexes.

Seems to me someone needs to take a firm hold of the municipal rudder and start steering this ship toward serious stability.

economic news, local news

Princeton does the inevitable

Princeton’s City Council had no choice but to do what it did Monday night by extending the building moratorium it had placed on new single-family dwelling and apartment construction.

It voted to extend its four-month building ban another six months.

So, let’s see. That means it will be 10 months before the city could start issuing building permits on those types of dwellings. This is just me, but my gut tells me another extension could be in the deck of cards that council members would want to play.

Princeton’s population continues to explode, But ,.. wait! The city needs more police officers, more firefighters, more medical emergency personnel, better streets, more electric utilities, more natural gas lines.

Moreover, the city needs much more commercial development, which isn’t part of the public financing obligation associated with infrastructure development. That commercial development is on the verge of become a reality.

A Princeton resident told CBS News Texas Channel 11 last night that folks here have to go to places such as McKinney and Allen for entertainment or to just purchase needed goods and commodities.

Princeton has developed an ocean of single-family rooftops. That’s fine, but the strain on new residents’ tax obligation is more than many of the newbies would care to absorb.

The city has some catching-up to do and I’m not sure six months extra time is enough.