Bee Cave City Council met on April 28 to discuss and approve several items, including rezoning issues, prohibiting engine braking and appointing a new Parks and Public Works director.
Rezoning the joint use public safety building
Bee Cave and Travis County Emergency Services District 6 are currently coordinating the design of a joint-use public safety facility at 1333 Hwy. 71, next to the Bee Cave Police Department.
The undeveloped property is currently over 2 acres and zoned as “Town Center Mixed-Use.”
City Council approved rezoning the property to “Public,” making the area intended for government, civic, public service and institutional uses, including police and fire stations and city administrative buildings.
Rezoning the property aligns the development with the adjacent property and creates a consistent zoning designation across the public safety project area, according to city documents.
“We’ve been talking about this for a while, so it’s good to see us moving along to get this done,” Mayor Kara King said.
Prohibiting engine braking within city limits
City Council also approved an ordinance prohibiting engine braking at the April 28 meeting.
Engine braking is a technique used by large vehicles for deceleration. The accelerator is released and the vehicle is downshifted to a lower gear, using the engine’s friction and internal compression to slow down instead of the brake pedal, Assistant City Manager Christopher Baker said.
Engine braking results in a “loud and disruptive” braking noise, Baker said.
“This is one tool that can be used by the city to prohibit loud noises ... from large commercial vehicles or anything like that,” Baker said.
The ordinance allows an exception for emergency vehicles and for the use of engine braking in an emergency situation.
The city must now work with the Public Works department to post signs at the city limits stating the ordinance.
Appointing the Parks and Public Works director
After an executive session, City Council appointed Steven Penhorn as the new Parks and Public Works director, according to a Facebook post from King after the meeting.
