The city of Leander is one step closer to including Palmera Ridge municipal utility district in its city limits after Leander City Council held a public hearing for the MUD property's annexation on Feb. 20.

The 197-acre land is northwest of the Ronald Reagan Boulevard and Hero Way intersection, site of the private Kittie Hill Airport. Its owner, the Austin-based Blake McGee Company, petitioned the city for annexation in January, Leander Development Services Director Tom Yantis said.

Yantis told City Council on Dec. 5 that the property is slated for a planned unit development. It could include 600 single-family houses, commercial sites and 20 acres of open space.

During the Feb. 20 meeting, Yantis said City Council could have a second public hearing about annexation during the city's March 6 meeting. The city would then hear the first reading of an annexation ordinance on March 27, and consider approval on April 3.

City Council approved two agreements for the Palmera Ridge MUD on Dec. 5, which presume future annexation of the new district. Yantis said the MUD could also include adjoining sites.

Building construction likely won't begin until later this year, Yantis said.

"[The owner will] go through the zoning process and get their zoning, and then they will proceed with planning," he said.