Posted 10:40 p.m. CST

According to unofficial results, Bee Cave residents overwhelmingly approved a new charter granting the city home rule status by a vote of 900 to 56, or 94.1 percent to 5.9 percent.

Bee Cave resident Mike Murphy, a former council member who chaired the city's home rule charter commission, said the vote did not come as a surprise.

"We expected it to pass," Murphy said. "To me, it's just the next step in the evolution of Bee Cave. We've gone from being the 'last bait shop on the way to the lake' to a home rule city."

Results are unofficial until canvassed.

Posted 7:25 p.m. CST

In early voting, Bee Cave voters are showing strong support, 94.61 percent or 597 votes to 5.39 percent or 34 votes, for adopting home rule status and a new city charter.

If approved, home rule status would grant Bee Cave the right to annex territory adjoining its boundaries, known as "extraterritorial jurisdiction," or ETJ.

The new charter also provides for the city's mayor to have a vote in city council matters, expands the city administrator's powers and restricts former city council members, including the mayor, from holding city office jobs until one year after their terms have expired.

On Feb. 26, Bee Cave City Council unanimously agreed to put the issue of home rule status on the ballot. A citizen's committee met for two weeks to draft the new city charter. Home rule status is allowed for Texas cities whose population exceeds 5,000 residents.

Although Bee Cave Mayor Caroline Murphy does not have a vote on issues presented before the city council, she previously stated that she supported the city attaining home rule status.