City Council passed an ordinance Feb. 4 that would authorize negotiations to buy out 25 additional properties affected by flooding in the Williamson Creek area.    

Mapi Vigil, managing engineer with the city of Austin Watershed Protection Department, said in 2014, City Council approved $78 million in certificates of obligation for buyouts in the lower Onion Creek and Williamson Creek areas and earmarked about $18 million for buyouts in Williamson Creek’s 25-year flood plain. In June 2015 council approved plans to proceed with buyouts on 38 of the Williamson Creek properties affected by October 2013 flooding.

So far, the city has made 15 offers—14 of those offers have been accepted and three have closed, Vigil said.

If all 38 homeowners slated for buyouts accept in addition to the three other homeowners the city identified for potential buyouts in November, the city will only have funding available to buy seven of the 25 additional properties, Vigil said.   

“We are going to begin contacting some of those property owners,” Vigil said, noting a letter went out in February to inform them of future buyout possibilities.

The city is following the federal Uniform Relocation Act, which aims to cover moving expenses as well as the difference it would take to afford a “comparable” house in Austin, according to staff.