In Texas, the feasibility of using urban service area boundaries to control sprawl is limited by the possibility for creation of municipal utility districts (MUDs). A MUD is a political subdivision of the State of Texas authorized to provide water, sewage, drainage and other services within the MUD boundaries. A MUD has authority to tax, borrow, and issue bonds. Developers may petition the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to create a MUD within a city’s limits and within its ETJ. A city’s ability to object is severely limited by statute. See Article XIV, Section 59 of the Texas Constitution, http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/txconst/sections/cn001600-005900.html, Chapter 54 of the Texas Water Code, http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/statutes/wa.toc.htm and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality website, http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/permitting/waste_permits/waste_planning/wp_district.html

In Texas, there are also requirements for the provision of full municipal services to newly annexed areas that may restrict the ability to use urban service area boundaries to guide growth. Texas Local Government Code ?43.056, Texas Legislature Online, http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/LG/content/htm/lg.002.00.000043.00.htm#43.056.00 (last visited 8/3/07). If the annexed area had a lower level of services and infrastructure than the level provided within the corporate boundaries of the municipality before annexation, a service plan must provide the annexed area with a level of services and infrastructure comparable to the level available in other parts of the municipality with topography, land use, and population density similar to those reasonably contemplated or projected in the area. Id.