Edinburg City Council Approves Sweeping UDC Overhaul After Year of Review
Edinburg City Council, UDC, unified development code, drag strip, data center, Lions Club, white cane, breast cancer, Filipino American, physician assistants, property taxes, infrastructure, townhomes
Arnoldo Mata
Edinburg TX – The Edinburg City Council approved more than 60 amendments to the city’s Unified Development Code Monday, Oct. 6, capping nearly a year of review aimed at standardizing and modernizing the city’s development regulations.
UDC Overhaul
The council approved proposed amendments to the Unified Development Code, revising more than 60 sections following review by city staff, a UDC Steering Committee made up of developers, engineers, professionals and residents, the Planning and Zoning Commission, and the Zoning Board of Adjustment. A joint public hearing with the Planning and Zoning Commission was held prior to the council meeting. Discussion focused in part on townhome lot sizes.
Mayor Omar Ochoa praised staff for producing a summary table showing current and proposed standards side by side for each of the more than 60 revised sections.
“Thank you very much to the planning and zoning department for all the work that you guys did for almost the past year, going literally combing through all of the provisions of the Unified Development Code to standardize, to modernize, to compare to other cities, and to pick a set of rules that we can move forward with,” the mayor said.
During public comments, Diane Teeter called for the UDC to include a mission statement requiring infrastructure readiness to include streets, paving, water, sewer and drainage before development is approved.
“Edinburg will require infrastructure readiness before development is approved,” Teeter said. “This will ensure that Edinburg will lead growth proactively, assuring long-term resilience, fiscal responsibility and a city that shapes its future rather than reacts to it one variance at a time.”
Public Comments
Three additional residents addressed the council during public comments.
Fern McClarty addressed property taxes and municipal spending, citing the city’s water rate increase, bond-funded projects and a 16.6% salary increase given to Hidalgo County commissioners while staff received a 5% cost-of-living adjustment.
Jacqueline Bias voiced support for economic development but urged transparency around any potential data center projects, referencing a $4 billion FluidStack data center reportedly breaking ground in the Harlingen–Rio Hondo area of Cameron County. “I do support any growth and development, but this kind of deals, people need to be aware in the future and we want to make sure that it’s beneficial to the community,” Bias said.
Gilberto Gonzalez, representing Higginbotham Public Sector, asked the council to consider his firm’s employee benefits consulting services, stating the company is ranked No. 1 in Texas and represents 14 of 20 educational service centers.
Drag Strip Lease
The council awarded RFP No. 2026-015 to CPR Motorsports Entertainment LLC for the lease and operation of the city’s drag strip racetrack at South Texas International Airport and authorized the city manager to negotiate a professional services agreement.
Police Compensation
The council approved an ordinance amending the city’s civil service classification and compensation plan for police. A public speaker noted the plan sets starting pay at $42,666, with lieutenant pay up to $93,000.
Variance Tabled
The council tabled a variance request from a property owner seeking to install a residential sprinkler system in lieu of extending a fire hydrant approximately 600 to 800 feet to serve a family tract divided into three parcels. The property owner said extending the fire hydrant would cost $80,000 to $90,000, while a sprinkler system would cost $10,000 to $15,000.
Fire Chief Omar Garcia recommended denial of the variance.
“We would recommend to deny the variance and go with the actual waterline and the hydrant, and that just gives us future development also,” Garcia said.
Council members said they needed more information before acting. A motion to approve failed for lack of a second, and the council voted to table the item.
Planning Grant
The council approved a 100%-funded planning grant for a pavement assessment and resilience program that will assign condition scores to city streets to guide future repaving priorities.
Proclamations
The council presented proclamations recognizing Oct. 15 as White Cane Awareness Day, October as Filipino American History Month, October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Oct. 6–12 as Physician Assistants Week.
District Governor Cody Corchado of Lions of District 2A3, who is deaf-blind, gave a live demonstration of white cane navigation, blindfolding the mayor and guiding him across the council chamber.
“There are 10,000 blind individuals here in the Rio Grande Valley,” Corchado said. “Where are they? Their home, their shared. If you have a family member that is visually impaired or blind, encourage him to come out. There’s lots to do here in the Rio Grande Valley.”
South Texas Health System noted that Edinburg and McAllen hospitals rank in the top 7% of hospitals nationwide for women’s services, citing the 2025 Women’s Choice Award. A hospital representative urged residents 40 and older to pursue annual mammograms.
“We are seeing in the hospital people who are younger and younger who are getting breast cancer,” the representative said. “Forty years and above, we recommend having the breast mammograms done and being preventative.”
Cassandra Whetstone, president of the Rio Grande Valley Physician Assistants Society and a faculty member and director of clinical education for the UTRGV Physician Assistant Program, accepted the PA Week proclamation.
“This recognition is especially meaningful here in Edinburg because this city has been home to PA education for more than 30 years,” Whetstone said. “When the city of Edinburg recognizes PA Week, you are recognizing not only the PAs caring for our patients today, but also a community that has helped educate and support the PAs who will care for our patients tomorrow.”
Other Business
The council approved an EEDC budget amendment for fiscal year 2025-2026 and the consent agenda. The November 3, 2026 regular council meeting was rescheduled to November 4, 2026. The council entered executive session at 7:03 p.m. No action was taken after the executive session.
Upcoming Events
The city highlighted three upcoming community events: a Senior Wien Event on Friday, Oct. 9 at 9 a.m. at the Elderly Recreational Center; a Homestead Exemption Registration Event on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 3 p.m. at the Sekula Library; and the Third Annual Fall Brawl on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 1 p.m. at the Parks and Recreation Department.