In a rather unusual move on Monday, Princeton City Council members approved a temporary stop on new residential building approvals, hoping to give the city time to catch up with the increasing demand for city services.
Although the city of Dallas is losing residents in large numbers, the city of Princeton, 40 miles to the northeast, is experiencing the inverse and is struggling to keep up with the booming population.
Princeton was named the third-fastest-growing city in the nation last year after its population rose 22% over the previous year. As of 2024, the city’s estimated population is about 31,500, and by 2039, the population is expected to reach 110,000.
In contrast, the population of Dallas declined by 3.28% last year, earning the ranking of the 7th-fastest declining city in the state of Texas, according to an analysis by FinanceBuzz.
However, all this growth in Princeton has come with its share of growing pains. City leaders say the city’s utilities and infrastructure have not expanded to keep up with the increased demand.
“The city’s water, wastewater, and roadway infrastructure is operating at, near, or beyond capacity,” city staff stated in a memo.
These critical issues led the city council to unanimously pass the 120-day moratorium on new residential buildings.
“With the moratorium, we’re looking for a little bit of breathing room,” said Tommy Mapp, the city’s director of public works, per NBC 5 DFW. “Some time to reevaluate how we’re growing, where we’re growing, and how we’re going to continue to grow into the future.”
“Our comprehensive plan that we are operating now was adopted in 2019, and it was supposed to have been built out to 2050. We have already eclipsed that,” Mayor Brianna Chacon told NBC 5 earlier this year.
City leaders plan to use the four-month moratorium period to create new zoning, subdivision, and roadway plans that will purposefully manage the city’s growth.
Rapid population growth has also strained emergency services. The city reportedly needs 30 additional police officers to meet current demand.
“We’ve been extremely busy these last couple of months. We do need a bit of a break so that we can catch our breath,” Princeton Police Chief James Waters said, per NBC 5. “And two, with the recent approval in the budget, hire these new officers and allow us to get them trained.”
The city has likewise been working to add new fire stations and extra fire department personnel to city rosters in recent months.
