Home Depot can still build its proposed 134,000-square-foot store near FM 1093 and FM 1463. And Fulshear no longer has any framework to negotiate a traffic study on what that store will do to Flewellen Way.

That's the consequence of the Fulshear City Council's vote on Tuesday, Aug. 4, to reject a Chapter 380 economic development agreement with Home Depot. The deal would have rebated 25% of the city's sales tax revenue generated by the store for five years, capped at $2 million. City staff estimated the actual payout would have been closer to $500,000.

City staff had recommended approval. The council overrode that recommendation.

The traffic impact analysis had already been stripped from the revised agreement before the vote. Home Depot objected to the requirement in an earlier May version, arguing it wasn't required under existing development agreements governing the Cross Creek Ranch commercial tract. The city agreed to remove it. But the Chapter 380 framework was the only mechanism through which the city could have negotiated such a requirement back in.

"If Home Depot chooses to just come without any sort of incentive agreement, they will still not be required to do a traffic analysis just because we cannot require them to do it per the development agreements," assistant city manager Kelsee Lee said at the Aug. 4 meeting, according to Community Impact. "It was only something that could be negotiated as part of an incentive agreement."

Lee said the primary concern centers on Flewellen Way and how increased passenger and commercial vehicle traffic could affect nearby residents. Home Depot has said it intends to seek a variance eliminating a planned driveway connection on the northern portion of Flewellen Way and does not want trucks using that route, Covering Katy reported.

Why council said no

Mayor Pro Tem Sarah Johnson, who made the motion to deny, said she would have supported the agreement if it included a traffic study. Council member Camron K. Miller questioned whether Fulshear should offer incentives to national big-box retailers at all. Council member Omar Peña argued the city should finish updating its strategic plan before signing any more Chapter 380 deals, as reported in the About Fulshear, Texas newsletter on Aug. 5.

Council member Kimberly Bow noted that site plans still show Flewellen Way as an access point despite Home Depot's stated intent to direct traffic to FM 1463 and FM 1093.

Johnson told Home Depot representatives the city wants the store. "We do want Home Depot in Fulshear," she said. "At the moment, it's just how do we make it work for both of us."

Who dissented

Council member Richard Russell, District 4, voted against the motion to deny. Sources conflict on whether council member Abhijeet Utturkar was absent or also voted against the motion. Community Impact reported Utturkar absent, while Covering Katy listed both Russell and Utturkar as dissenting votes. Official meeting minutes have not been published.

Russell said the decision will have lasting implications for future economic development and that how the city handles negotiations sends a message to businesses considering investing in Fulshear.

What happens next

Rejecting the incentive does not block the store. Home Depot can proceed under existing development requirements without further council action. The roughly $38 million project would generate at least 40 full-time jobs, according to agenda documents. Home Depot representatives at the Aug. 4 meeting declined to comment after the vote, and the company has not publicly stated whether it will move forward without the agreement.