More than a year and a half after floods damaged homes near Williamson Creek, some of those homeowners will be offered a buyout from the city of Austin.
Austin City Council voted June 4 to initiate a voluntary buyout of up to 63 homes in the area costing no more than $17,986,000, or about $285,492 per home. Changes were made to the original buyout plan during a June 4 meeting before any vote was taken.
Qualifying property owners are required to have owned or rented out the home since before the October 2013 floods, and the property must have been affected in those floods.
Staff told council they were not aware of how many homes would be excluded from the buyout with those conditions. Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo represents District 9, which includes parts of Central Austin. She said she worries about leaving some homes out of the buyout program because the program’s intent is to move residents out of harm’s way. Excluding some homes may not fully accomplish that mission, she said.
