Zoning/Siting/Permitting
There is no zoning in the unincorporated county. Applications/requests for tax abatement on economic development require a public hearing with a 30-day notice of consideration issued by the county commissioners court. (Chapter 312)
The County’s Guidelines and Criteria for Tax Abatement are here. The County acts on the application within 60 days of receipt.
The County began using 312 agreements in 2004 for wind turbines; it has two of the largest wind farms in the state. Expanded into solar farms in 2014, and has five of the top ten largest in Texas. In 2021, it attracted three battery storage facilities. There are data centers in the county, which were incentivised with a 381 agreement.
All Commissioners and the County Judge sit on the Permian Basin Regional Planning Commission (PBRPC) with 16 other counties. The PBRPC’s Community Development Fund regional project priorities for 2023-24 are:
- Water
- Sewer
- Streets/roads/drainage
The Economic Development Strategy for the Permian Basin region lists Energy production and environmental technology (fossil fuel and renewables) as its number one targeted and coordinated Key Industry Cluster in which to develop regional competency. (2015-2020)
The county is a job center, but many workers commute from outside the county. County Commissioners, the Economic Development Corporation, and others would like to see the number of residents go up as well.
The Commissioners Court has two Democrats and two Republicans representing the four precincts; the County Judge is a popular Democrat with a long history of public service.
