Outside City Limits Still Has Some City Rules

Just past a city line, there can be a zone where you do not pay city taxes but the city still has a say. Texas calls it an extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ. Inside an ETJ, a city can control how land is split and developed.

That matters in Lubbock County because several towns cast their own ETJ. Lubbock, Slaton, Wolfforth, Idalou, and Shallowater are examples. If you buy acreage near one of them, ask that city's planning office whether the tract falls inside its ETJ before you draw up plans.