After emergency injunctive relief against the West Austin Business Park was issued Oct. 18, Mayor Kara King outlined what the agreement means for the community at a press event Oct. 21.
The overview
On Oct. 18, Judge Jessica Mangrum, of Travis County’s 200th district court, approved the city’s restraining order against Velocis during an emergency hearing. The city was joined by representatives for Lakeway and Eppright Homes, who spoke on behalf of neighboring communities affected by the noise and light pollution caused by ongoing construction at the 270,000 square-foot site, just off Hwy. 71 and Serene Hills Drive.
Bee Cave requested the TRO due to the developers’ reluctance to allow city officials to inspect their site, as well as neighbors’ concerns about construction, King said. Now that the TRO has been approved, construction will be halted for 14 days and city officials will be able to inspect the site.
“They have not submitted site plans, they did not submit construction documents, and they have not let any official from the city out to that site. We have been prevented from inspecting,“ King said. “In these next 14 days, we’re going to get on that site, we’re going to learn as much as we can, we’re going to be out there every day and we’re going to see what is going on.”
Following the TRO approval, King said developers will be required by law to share their site plans with the city.
“They are required to give it to us [Oct. 21] by 6 p.m,” King said. “The TRO compels them to give us all of those documents that we should have had before construction began.”
Diving in deeper
As to what they expect to find during their inspections, King said that the city is uncertain.
“We know that there’s noise pollution way exceeding the decibels allowed, there are giant lights they’ve had out there 24 hours a day,” King said. “There’s a safety issue—we don’t even know and can’t verify how this building and the retaining walls are being constructed. The city’s primary goal is to protect its citizens from harm.”
This inspection process will allow city officials to understand the current status of the construction site. Although a development agreement was signed with Velocis in 2015, since then officials say that they have not been kept informed about plans for construction.
Legal representatives for Velocis have stated that they have previously attempted to communicate with the city, citing a private letter to City Manager Clint Garza detailing construction plans. City officials say this letter was not shared with the rest of staff.
As a result, many officials first learned of the construction in August, when large walls were erected near Sweetwater Road.
“We were extremely alarmed. I found out about this project as I watched the tilt walls going up in early August,” Mayor King said.
Next steps
After the city gathers information about the development site through inspections, there will be an injunction hearing Nov. 12, during which the city will ask the court to pause all construction on the site until a trial is held in front of a jury, which King says will likely happen sometime in the spring of 2025.
“The more we’ve learned the more we believe the law is on our side here,” King said.
Though King acknowledged that cities generally try to work in cooperation with developers for the betterment of their communities, she said that this case was unique.
“I have been on City Council in Bee Cave since May of 2013. I have been mayor since the spring of 2020. I have never seen a project pop up inside of our city without first going through the city processes,” King said.
As to what the city’s goals are with this development, King stated their requests in simple terms.
“The city is asking for this building to be torn down,” King said.
