Georgetown City Council members gave initial approval to a multifamily development near Shell Road and Shell Spur at an April 14 meeting, after an almost three-year process.

What happened: Council members passed a development agreement with NOVA368 for the Shell Spur Public Utility District, which encompasses about 43 acres of land, and includes plans to build multifamily housing and some commercial elements.

The first reading of the agreement includes several modifications aimed at reducing housing density, stricter architectural standards and mandating developer funding for infrastructure improvements.

Council members also voted to annex the site from the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction into city limits, which will prevent the developer from going forward with a plan to provide wastewater services through a package plant, District 5 council member Kevin Pitts said.

What they're saying: “Do I want these apartments next door? No, but it is a better alternative of the two, I'd rather have that than the wastewater treatment plant,” Georgetown resident Carol Tharpe said.

Cosmic Roots Nature School will close at the end of the 2025-26 school year and will not enroll students for the 2026-27 academic year, according to school officials.

About the school: Cosmic Roots serves students in pre-K through eighth grade and had plans to expand to ninth grade, according to previous reporting.

The Georgetown-based microschool offers a nature-based curriculum with extracurriculars such as outdoor education, gardening, art, herbalism and 3D printing. The school enrolled about 55 students, with tuition ranging from $785 to $950 per month.

What’s next: Families seeking similar programming can look to Sage Field, a new nature-based program led by some current Cosmic Roots teachers, said Michelle Wong, assistant head of school, admissions and operations. The program is expected to offer an outdoor-based summer session and enroll elementary-aged students for fall 2026, she said.

Sage Field will offer small-group learning with hands-on experiential education for students ages 4-11, according to its website.

• 75 CR 152, Georgetown

Texas is home to the nation’s fastest-growing data center market, with one January report projecting that the state will see a 142% increase in its share of the data center industry by the end of 2028.

During a wide-ranging Texas House hearing April 9, lawmakers questioned data center developers, energy companies and state grid officials about the amount of water the large facilities use; how they impact noise levels and air quality; and whether residents can expect higher costs when data centers come to their communities.

What they're saying: “Water is a really scarce resource in this state, and so we have to have a clear picture of what these facilities use on the water side,” said Thomas Gleeson, chair of the Public Utility Commission of Texas.

More details: Data centers use water to cool their computer servers and prevent overheating. The facilities have historically used a water-intensive process known as "evaporative cooling," but data center executives said April 9 that they have transitioned to “closed-loop” systems where water is continuously reused.