Water, traffic and jobs among most pressing obstacles for area

Increased traffic and the Central Texas drought are at the forefront of issues facing Lake Travis–area residents, according to speakers at the fourth annual Lake Travis Chamber of Commerce Economic Forecast Luncheon held Jan. 15 at the Lakeway Resort and Spa.

"We're going to continue to be a voice for water and mobility issues," LTCC board chairman Jeremy Self said.

Lakeway tourism, branding

Lakeway Mayor Dave DeOme addressed the city's efforts to promote tourism in the area which include a campaign to develop a brand, or an identity, for the city. Lakeway's hotel occupancy tax produced $600,000 of revenue from July 2013 to June 2014, which will go toward purchasing land for a performing arts center in the city, he said.

DeOme said Lakeway's high bond rating indicates the strong health of the city's economy. Most of Lakeway's property encompasses residential development, and the value of all building permits is projected to grow in 2014. The predominant source of revenue for Lakeway is property tax, with sales taxes rising to a record $2.5 million in 2013, he said.

Assisted-living and memory-care campus The Harbor at Lakeway, adult retirement community Tuscan Village, preschool Lupine Lane, a physical rehabilitation facility, a Lexus car dealership and a downtown center are all coming to Lakeway, DeOme said. Transportation projects involving the widening of Bee Creek Road, redesigning Flint Rock Road and finding alternatives to RR 620 are also in progress, he said.

DeOme said area lake levels have almost reached record lows, and the city, along with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, supports raising trigger levels for downstream users such as rice farmers.

Bee Cave plans commercial projects

Unlike Lakeway, Bee Cave's sales tax, with the Hill Country Galleria and Shops at the Galleria, is the city's largest revenue generator, said Lindsey Oskoui, Bee Cave director of planning and development.

New retail and office space is expected for the Gateway to Falconhead, and a movie studio proposal with a retail component, music venue, residential condominiums, hotel and office space is in the preconcept stage for a Bee Cave Parkway site, she said. Additional commercial projects underway in Bee Cave include the Hill Country Indoor athletic complex, Hill Country Golf and Guitar, Revival Square, the Park at Bee Cave and a Sonesta Hotel, she said.

Residential building is continuing in Bee Cave with new developments such as Ladera, The Reserve at Bee Cave, Cielo apartments, Madrone, and Bella Colinas underway, Oskoui said. Senior living facilities geared toward those with Alzheimer's disease as well as assisted-living residents are planned for Hwy. 71 and Bee Cave Parkway, she said.

Oskoui said the city is below its goal of a single-family to multifamily housing ratio of 2-to-1 in terms of square footage. The population of Bee Cave has grown from about 500 residents in 2000 to 5,371 residents in 2013, with an additional 3,252 in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, she said.

The city has completed three out of four of its annexation proposals since becoming a home rule city in May, Oskoui said. The projected commercial and residential developments will result in transportation and water resources becoming the city's biggest issues, she said.

Home sales remain strong

Jolene Weinstein, Lake Travis Realty Austin Market Manager, said the growth in Texas' population stems from job availability, lower housing costs, lack of state income tax, abundance of big cities, the family-friendly nature of the state and fewer state rules. She said Atlas Moving Co.'s household migration patterns show that more than 55 percent of shipments in Texas remained in the state in 2013.

All areas in Lake Travis will see increases in the number of home sales in the coming year compared with 2013, she said. Developers are moving to the area because Central Texas has land, with the number of lots available far outpacing lot sales, Weinstein said.

One of the region's top concerns is water, Weinstein said. Some experts are predicting that should drought conditions persist, Lake Travis could run dry by 2016, she said. The Lake Travis Economic Impact Report shows a correlation between a decrease in visitor spending and low lake levels, she said. The loss of local jobs is a byproduct of lower water levels, she said.

Texas is in expansion mode

Mark Sprague, Independence Title Co. director of information capital, said Texas is in a great place compared with the rest of the nation. He agreed with Weinstein's reasons for the state's population growth and said Austin is in an expansion mode.

Sprague said only California and Texas are producing jobs of any size and predicted 25,000 to 30,000 additional jobs will be created in Austin annually for the next 3 to 5 years.

Consumer confidence has undergone a significant change resulting in more home purchases and low levels of inventory, he said. Sprague said the high cost of utilities—water and wastewater—drives up the value of homes, pricing them out of reach for some of the labor market in the area.

"After you go through Sweetwater [in Bee Cave], McCormick Ranch [in Four Points] and the Hatchett Tract [development off Hamilton Pool Road], you're done," Sprague said. "[The Lake Travis] population will be capped by the number of lots [it has]," Sprague said.