West Lake Hills City Council again extended the deadline for developers to submit plans regarding a vacant city property at 110 Westlake Drive, near Bee Caves Road.

After council action Wednesday, developers will now have until Nov. 20 to submit proposals to the city, a 62-day extension from the previous deadline of Sept. 19. The original request for proposals was posted to the city website June 19.

At the meeting, West Lake Hills resident Jim Penny said that until recently, he was unaware the city was considering selling the land. He asked the council why the land was for sale.

“[The sale of the property] has been something previous councils have discussed, but have not taken any action on,” Mayor Linda Anthony said.  “Part of the reason it is being discussed now is [West Lake Hills] has spent a considerable amount of money on acquiring Bee Caves Road right of way and our city reserves are not what they used to be.”

She said the city is also in the process of facing a potential bond election next year to address expensive road repairs, drainage repairs and facilities upgrades. The sale of the property could mitigate some of the costs that would fall on the taxpayers.

Resident Bob Kasper said he believed the council was acting hastily with the September deadline and the community may not have been given ample opportunities to give feedback. He said development on the property, which has been used as city green space for decades, could adversely impact traffic on Westlake Drive and would be a safety concern.

“It’s a piece of property that had been there for a long time, and if the city wanted to sell it they may [want to] involve the homeowners to see how they felt about it,” Kasper said.

Anthony said discussion about the property had taken place on at least two previous occasions as part of city council agendas. The request for proposal had also been properly advertised online and in print, and was posted on the city’s Nextdoor account, she said.

However, she said she had little concern about extending the deadline for an additional two months to give more time for feedback.

Anthony said the city would schedule a town hall meeting for mid-October to allow residents to weight in on what type or proposals, if any, they would be interested in. The city is expected to announce a date and time for the town hall by the middle of next week, she said.

A second town hall meeting will be scheduled for early 2018 after all proposals have been submitted, open to the public and reviewed.