Category: Lytle City Council Meetings

By Anton Riecher
At a series of public hearings Monday by the Lytle City Council regarding annexation and zoning for the 284-acre Rowan Digital Infrastructure data center project, speakers repeatedly stressed that the project should not move forward without clearer facts on issues ranging from water use and traffic to effects on neighboring property values.
Coal Mine neighborhood resident Jesue Valdez noted that Gov. Greg Abbott has placed a temporary pause on new data center permit approvals pending a comprehensive audit underway by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)
“Knowing that they can’t even get the state permits are you (the city council) going to postpone the vote so we can see the outcome of what happens?”
Of the 26 speakers to take the podium at the Lytle Community Center, those joining Valdez included Letica Alston, Arcol and Linda Bujol, Ayman Helms, Frank and Monica Ybarra and Lainey Franklin. None of the speakers spoke in favor of the project.

City Administrator Zachary Meadows set the stage for the hearings for Project Pirate (also known as Project Cinco) regarding proposed annexation, rezoning to industrial use and creation of a reinvestment zone, a designated area to encourage economic development, new construction and business expansion.
“I recognize that a project of this size raises important questions and I want to acknowledge the residents for taking the time to show their concerns about drainage, lighting, setbacks, noise, water, infrastructure and the long-term impact this project may have on our community.
Jurisdiction is the city’s main legal issue, Meadows explained. The project is already located in the city extra-territorial jurisdiction, a designated unincorporated area of land located immediately outside a city’s official corporate limits.
Annexation would allow the city to regulate the site more directly and direct agreements with the developer would limit the property to data center use even with industrial use zoning, Meadows said.
Benefits from the project claimed during the hearing included…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $42 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

The City of Lytle will increase their utility rates effective 30 days from the published notice of October 7, which will reflect on customer’s December 1st bill. The City Council voted to increase these rates at the September 28, 2026, City Council meeting. See page 17 for rate comparisons.
The new rates also include the removal of small business commercial as an overall category and placing those customers that were listed as such under the commercial category.
See public notice in this week’s Devine News on page 17 for complete chart of rates for both residential and commercial rates for water and charts for sewer also. Rates vary for those who reside inside city limits and those who reside outside city limits.

Also noted is the old rate fee(current rate) and the new rate fee.
Rates include a base rate plus the volumetric charges for how much water is used that month. The rates for over 10,000 gallons are about four times…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $42 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

By Anton Riecher
By a 4-0 vote, the Lytle City Council voted at its Sept. 28 meeting to approve a 2026 ad valorem tax rate of $.0485 per $100 valuation, an increase of 4.578 percent from the previous year. Municipal taxes on the average Lytle homestead now stands at $1,029, an increase of 31.9 percent.
Mayor Ruben Gonzalez said the increase represents less than half a cent per $100 valuation.
“It’s going from $.483 to $.485,” Gonzalez said. “So that’s how much of an increase it is.”
The increase supports a fiscal year 2026-2027 city budget of $8.976 million, also approved by a 4-0 council vote. Among the increase is a three percent cost-of-living adjustment for city employees.
A public hearing on the proposed tax rate was opened and closed with no additional public comment.
The $.0485 rate represents a debt service tax rate of $.41139 per $100 valuation combined with a tax rate of $.41139 per $100 valuation cover maintenance and operations.
District 4 Alderman Michael Rodriguez put forward the separate motions on the budget and tax rate. District 1 Alderwoman Anna Carrillo seconded the budget motion and District 3 Alderman David Emery seconded the motion on the rate increase.
District 5 Alderman Matthew Martinez was absent from the meeting. District 2 Alderman Richard Hughes had earlier voted against…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $42 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

Notice Is Hereby Given To All Interested Persons, the City Council of the City of Lytle, Texas will hold a public hearing on the following:
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LYTLE, TEXAS, APPROVING THE ZONING OF 284.04 ACRES TO “I” INDUSTRIAL ZONING DISTRICT ON LAND CONSISTING OF THE FOLLOWING PROPERTIES:

1. A 129.21 ACRE-TRACT OF LAND LYING IN THE H. RANSING SURVEY 517, ABSTRACT 0817, MEDINA COUNTY, TEXAS, DESCRIBED IN DEED NUMBER 2026001392, OFFICIAL PUBLIC RECORDS OF MEDINA COUNTY, TEXAS; AND…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $42 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

The City Council of the City of Lytle will conduct a public hearing at City Hall, 14916 Main Street, Lytle, Texas on Monday, October 19, 2026 at 6:30 PM, during an open meeting to consider the application by Rowan Lytle LLC to designate certain property located in the City of Lytle’s extra territorial jurisdiction as a Reinvestment Zone that will be eligible for property tax abatement under Chapter 312 of the Texas Tax Code, if and when the area is annexed into the City of Lytle, and the reinvestment zone is to be named the “Reinvestment Zone Number Two – City of Lytle” (the “Zone”).
The property in the Zone is approximately 284.25 acres in Medina County primarily in the Lytle ISD and is included in Medina County Appraisal District property tax parcels: 7865, 7868, 7809, 83866, and 516178.
The property is intended for use as a…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $42 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

The City Council of the City of Lytle, Texas will hold a Public Hearing for the Proposed Extension of the Lytle municipal boundaries by Voluntary Annexation of the territory located West of Hwy. 132 and North of CR 683 , Lytle, Texas 78052, and described as:
A combined total of 288.10 acres, as described in Deed Number 2026001392 of the Deed Records of Medina County, Texas, and consisting of a 129.21 acre tract of land, legally described as H. RANSING SURVEY 517, a 127.47 acre tract of land, legally described as M. DENSON SURVEY 449, a 25 acre tract of land legally described as G. RISSMAN SURVEY 450 1/2, and a 2.36 acre tract of land, legally described as G. RISSMAN SURVEY 450 1/2.
The Public Hearing will be held at …LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $42 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!

By Anton Riecher
The completion date of a new elevated water storage project in Lytle has shifted again, now extending from the previously expected September due date to November 20, the city’s engineering consultant reported to the Lytle City Council Monday.
Council members expressed concerns that the continuing delays were not communicated earlier and means further impact on nearby residents as the unfinished project affects the area’s appearance.
Engineering consultant Scott Horowitz with TRC Engineers reported that he had received a schedule update from the contractor an hour and half before the meeting.
“I haven’t had an opportunity to dive into it too much but the schedule has shifted from last month’s completion date of the middle to end of September to Nov. 20,” Horowitz said.
Asked why by the council, Horowitz replied that the contractor had given him a one sentence response saying that crew availability is impacting the schedule.
City Administrator Zachary Meadows noted that the…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!