The city of Lakeway could be joining Bee Cave in its legal battle against the West Austin Business Park, a new distribution center rising along Hwy. 71 and Serene Hills Drive.
The latest
After residents sounded alarm bells about the new, 270,000-square-foot facility being built near the Sweetwater neighborhood, Bee Cave filed for an injunction to stop the construction.
The site plan consists of three buildings with over 80 truck loading doors, offices and warehouse space.
At an Aug. 19 meeting, Lakeway City Council unanimously voted to intervene in the litigation following public testimony from over 30 residents.
City spokesperson Jarrod Wise clarified that Lakeway does not have jurisdiction over the property, but it will work with Bee Cave to understand whether they can be party to the litigation.
Quote of note
At an Aug. 20 Travis County Commissioner's meeting, Lakeway Mayor Pro-Tem Gretchen Vance brought the community's concerns before the court.
"The recent proposal at [Hwy.] 71 and Serene Hills Drive is an affront to Western Travis County's values and goals. ... To my knowledge, not one commissioner reached out to the city of Lakeway or the city of Bee Cave before moving forward with this project. Why is that? Where is the transparency?" Vance said.
What residents are saying
Several residents voiced their concerns at the Lakeway and Travis County meetings.
"[Hwy. 71] is already so dangerous, and my son, he's a teenage driver. He drives through that area to get to school every day, so that's one of my concerns. We don't need more semi-trucks on the roads," West Cypress Hills resident Elise McCorkle said.
Sweetwater resident Nagesh Kollu echoed the traffic concerns, adding that he was not made aware of plans for the business park when he purchased his home in March 2020. Now, he said he fears property values in the area could suffer.
How we got here
While the property falls outside of Bee Cave city limits and within its extrajudicial territory, the city said builders violated the terms of a development agreement from 2015.
The agreement includes a master development plan, which set the land parcel for "commercial and office" use and prohibits "any use that adversely affects the health, safety or welfare of its residents or property."
What the county is saying
Travis County has approved dozens of development permits for the project; however, Judge Andy Brown and Precinct 3 Commissioner Ann Howard said these approvals are due to the limited authority of the county over the land.
“I share the community’s frustration and am irritated with this monstrosity going up in what I call the ‘gateway to the Hill Country,'" Howard said in a statement. "As I understand it, this development is controlled by an agreement between the [city] of Bee Cave and the developer, which lays out the building standards. The [county] only has very limited authority to regulate how the property is used. I will continue to work with the community to determine what options might exist to make this better.”
Brown added that state law currently limits the county's land use authority as well.
"I share the concerns and frustrations expressed by the community members who called into our Commissioners Court voting session. I am willing to join the [city] of Bee Cave and ask the state Legislature to give counties more land use authority that would protect local residents,” Brown said in a statement.
What's next
While an injunction hearing was set for Aug. 27, that hearing has since been cancelled following an agreement by all involved parties, according to Travis County District Clerk’s Office staff.
In a social media statement, Bee Cave Mayor Kara King said the hearing was postponed for more parties to join the case.
The developers declined to comment.
