Bee Cave pursues annexation of 514 acres adjacent to city limits

Bee Cave City Council is considering annexing more than 500 acres from its extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ, into the city limits, with the majority of the property—about 300 acres—located in the Hamilton Pool Road area. An ETJ is the area adjacent to the city limits that can be annexed.

The council unanimously voted to declare its intent to annex the tracts Sept. 8. In addition to the Hamilton Pool Road property, Bee Cave is considering annexing about 149 acres north and south of Bee Caves Road, including the Lake Hills Church; about 25 acres southeast of the Shops at the Galleria; about 8 acres north of W. Hwy. 71 and west of Bee Cave Parkway; and about 32 acres south of W. Hwy. 71 and east of Great Divide Drive.

Council members are slated to conduct public hearings on the proceedings Nov. 10 and 16 at Bee Cave City Hall.

The move to add the properties’ tax values to the city’s coffers is permitted under Bee Cave’s status as a home rule city, which it attained in 2013. Under state law, a home rule city may annex property in the amount of up to 10 percent of its current land annually.

Bee Cave can annex up to 529.6 acres for the 2015 calendar year.

“We are in our third year implementing annexation strategies,” City Manager Travis Askey said of Bee Cave’s proposals. “It’s our way of filling in our jurisdiction.”

In 2014, Bee Cave initiated the annexation of 378 acres north of Bee Cave Parkway, east and west of Hamilton Pool Road and west of Great Divide Drive. In 2013, Bee Cave initiated the annexation of tracts totaling about 178 acres.

Landowners with agricultural exemptions through the Travis Central Appraisal District can enter into development agreements with the city permitting the residents to exclude their property from annexation, Askey said.