The End of Exurbs? Small Cities in North Texas Feeling the Pressure as Growth Closes in

Once rural, cities in Denton County are grappling with providing services as people are making their way past US 380.

The growth of the Dallas-Fort Worth region has been steady and swift, with data showing the population has ballooned from 4.1 million in 2000 to 6.5 million in 2022. 

Growth is not isolated to Dallas or Fort Worth proper. Instead, it’s making its way north, and not just to McKinney. Towns once considered rural and country are seeing growth come to their doorstep and are feeling the pressure to expand with the rest of the region. 

North Texas Development Pushes Further North

“We do feel the pressure of growth,” Aubrey Mayor Chris Rich said. “The battle we face is a developer not wanting to annex their property inside the city limits. They feel it’s more profitable for them to build [municipal utility districts] in our [extra-terratorial jurisdiction].  They also have a less restrictive list from the city on regulations when they do this.  So, we are making sure that these new developments, even if they do build in the ETJ, are providing the most benefit for the community as a whole as we can get them to agree.”

Rich added it is easier for developers to build outside city limits, but they still expect police and fire services. 

“We will always provide that service, but we have fees in place for them to ‘pay their fair share,’ even though they aren’t contributing any ad valorem taxes,” Rich said. “We do this for police, fire, parks, roadway impact fees, and water/wastewater impact fees (where applicable).  

“Managing this to not cause any new local residents to impact the tax bill of existing taxpayers is the number one goal,” he added. “So far, we’ve been able to do all of this, while simultaneously lowering our taxes.” 

Aubrey has seen its population grow by more than 200 percent since 2000, reaching 4,350 people in 2020. 

The mayor said the majority of the growth is residential but noted several small commercial projects taking place. 

“With this residential growth, we’ve also been addressing our community activities to get everyone together,” he said. “We are building our long-time traditions to make them even bigger than they have been in the past.” 

Rich added the city has a level of service it wishes to maintain and is adding personnel to help the city achieve that. He said the city has a new team of department heads that are building departments to stay ahead of growth. 

“We have water and wastewater expansion projects in process.  We are also addressing some issues where Aubrey may have been behind where we should have been, due to our size. Like adding generators to our water wells,” Rich said. “We are in the process of adding our third fire station right now as our fire department grows. Ten years ago, we had like six police officers, we now have about 24 and are looking to make more additions this year.”

Dallas North Tollway Drives Population Growth

One of the main reasons for accelerating growth is the expansion of the Dallas North Tollway north past US 380. 

The North Texas Tollway Authority expansion of the Dallas North Tollway includes 13.7 miles north past US 380. The expansion will provide direct links between downtown Dallas and Collin, Denton, and Grayson counties, going through or near Aubrey and neighboring Pilot Point. 

Pilot Point City Manager Britt Lusk said city council, staff, and volunteer groups have worked in recent years to create master parks plans, master trails plans, and 30-year water and sewer plans. 

“Smaller cities do feel the pressure that larger cities may not, as we have limited resources and limited staff.  We have prepared for the growth by strengthening our relationship with our ISD, County, and State officials,” Lusk said. “We utilize contractors where we can and evaluate the cost/benefit when we move forward with hiring specific positions. To help with the burden of growth we have impact fees to pay for improvements to our public infrastructure by charging developers a fee for the impact they have on these systems. We require park dedication to ensure we have adequate parks and green space.”

Lusk said the tollway’s expansion “will have a large impact” on Pilot Point’s growth since much of the growth will be along the Tollway corridor. 

The city reported that it has experienced a 33 percent population growth since 1990. Pilot Point had just over 5,000 people in 2010 but is projected to have over 20,000 by 2030. 

Lusk said Pilot Point currently has 12,000 homes in the development stage and could increase population projections to 70,000. 

“We will have increased traffic and wear and tear on our infrastructure. It will be critically important for Pilot Point to manage the growth impacts and to protect the historical neighborhoods that have formed the ‘heart’ of the city since the 1800s,” he said.  

Commercial and industrial growth will follow, Lusk added, especially along US 377 through Pilot Point. Planned developments could be, in some cases, schools, parks, trails, protected open spaces, roads, and other amenities that will not negatively impact existing residents.

“The projected population growth will attract future job-creating opportunities in master-planned industrial and commercial projects that serve our needs to create a community based on living, working, and playing in Pilot Point,” Lusk said. 

Rich said that the Tollway, while further east from the city, is already building quickly and the added projects could drive people to Aubrey’s shops and businesses. He added the planned “Outer Loop” will have the most impact on the city. 

If growth patterns stay on course, he added, Aubrey could see its population double in the next five years.