In a party line vote, the Senate approved legislation that would require voter approval before the annexation of an unincorporated area occurs.

This could impact residents in areas close to the city of Austin.

Residents in areas designated within Austin's extraterritorial jurisdiction do not receive city services, including utilities, and cannot vote in city elections. Individuals living in these regions do not pay city taxes, but the area can be annexed by the city, given notice and procedural requirements.

River Place is located within Austin's ETJ and is slated for full annexation by the city this December.

Additionally, the Lost Creek neighborhood in the Westlake area was fully annexed by Austin on Dec. 15, 2015, after a bitter battle opposing the process.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, said cities currently annex to boost their tax base without giving needed attention to poor areas that require greater city services.

She said the process implemented by her bill would streamline the annexation process, taking it from what could be a matter of multiple years to a few weeks. It would also prevent cities from annexing areas merely to extend its planning, zoning, health or safety ordinances to the area.

Before passing the bill out of the Senate, Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville tacked on an amendment that would prohibit the legislation from applying to municipalities that have a strategic partnership agreement, or SPA, for the purpose of annexation. This would negate the impact of the legislation on places like River Place, which negotiated a SPA with Austin and the River Place Municipal Utility District in 2009.

The River Place SPA allowed the neighborhood to delay annexation for eight years with Austin and permitted residents a vote in city elections without having to pay Austin property taxes. The agreement also handed over its ownership of water and wastewater facilities to the city as a limited district while maintaining its operations.

Recently, however, residents have been searching for options to disannex or reverse the process before they are fully incorporated into the city of Austin.

The River Place Disannexation Political Action Committee formed to oppose the maneuver and several candidates in the May election of River Place MUD officers opposed the move.

Residents are working with Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Houston, who is sponsoring similar legislation in the House, to remove the impact of Nichols' amendment on communities like River Place and allow these neighborhoods a voice in annexation proceedings.

The bill has been sent to the House Land and Resource Management committee but has not received a hearing.