Still HOT! Doesn't look like much relief in sight. Cold Front North of us - may drop the temperature a couple of degrees - hopefully a shower or 2 - lets hope!
Lake Travis is down another 6 inches, about an inch a day. Still way above normal. Temperatures and rainfall amounts (optimistic) are always available on my weather station. 102.4° as I write this - UGH!
****** ZAPCO ******
6) Preliminary Plan revision for Lakeway Highlands Phase 3 - Simply relocated a propane tank and lift station and amended some lot layouts - passed unanimously.
7) Lots of discussion on the road in Lakeway Estates and eventually some recommendations were made and they will make some adjustments and come back to the commission.
8) Special Use Permit for a beauty salon 3313 RR 620 - passed unanimously.
9) Lake Travis ISD had issues with a permit for portable buildings and was required to come back to the commission for corrections on the permitted project. There was a lot of discussion about drainage issues and there is actually a law suit by a land owner on the drainage issue - this was dismissed by the court but has been appealed. Permit was approved unanimously and issues will be handled by the court and compliance.
10) Sign request for 101 Medical Parkway was discussed extensively and eventually passed 6-1.
11) Sign variances requested for the hotel at the Medical Village were denied unanimously.
12) Monument sign variance was also denied unanimously.
***Both 11-12 were significant increases in size and no representative was present to answer questions or make a presentation.
13) Ordinance changes approved unanimously - had mostly to do with signs and billboards that will be affected by the 620 improvement.
****** Special Council Meeting ******
The "Budget Meeting" turned into a Special Council marathon. Here is that agenda / packet. Here is a link to the video.
3) This was a "First Reading" of significant changes to the city ordinance that contains rules, fees and fines having to do with animals in the city. Presentation was made by Chief Radford. Major Changes:
Dogs and cats are now required to be microchipped rather than be registered with the city.
Changes to animals considered public nuisance or vicious.
Defined acceptable care and living conditions and enclosure requirements.
Permit system for commercial facilities.
Acceptable restraint including leash and tether.
Updated all the fees
Updated ordinance to reflect legislative changes.
Discussions on this item lasted an hour and a half. If you have an animal, I suggest you look at the new ordinance. It is included in the packet link. For example, Section4.02.004 a) 3 says its unlawful for any animal that damages, soils, defiles or defecates on any property including the owners property - interesting.
4) Basically this moved the CBC Ordinance to a different section of the code - not a big deal.
5) Council had a "First Reading" of changes to Chapter 24 of the building code ordinance. These changes were massive. Allegedly the state has passed a law that significantly restricts the city's ability to regulate "building" in their ordinances. They have removed the city's ability to restrict things like - % of masonry, type of roof, type of siding - generally everything that makes our little city unique and keeps our property values up.
Council Member Vance commented that the vacant lot next to her could be a cinder block house - that is now correct. It could also be a frame house with no brick or rock - anything that is permitted in the accepted international building code. All TCO (temporary certificate of occupancy) / FCO's (final certificate of occupancy) will now be handled by BDS employees.
Several council members saw no need for the City Building Commission and wanted to talk about combining those remaining duties with ZAPCO or Board of Adjustment. The city will be looking into that.
Some good things - they are trying to put a limit length of time a project can take.
They are also considering adopting more "Dark Sky" regulations and are considering deleting the requirements for street lights.
They also included an example list of what requires a permit.
Discussion went on until about 5:30 p.m. There were several items that were sent back for further investigation and updated language. Council then took a break.
6) About 5:50 p.m. the council meeting resumed and took up the budget.
The city brought in $245,000 more this year than last year because of increased new homes and values. I didn't catch it, but I'm sure the sales tax income has increased also. One of the topics of discussion was the cost to operate the new police station - this is about $160K per year. New expenses from salary adjustments after the survey the city did. (Pretty much done every 3-4 years) No mention was made of the expense of $153,000 for an internal road study or the addition of a Communication Director at a salary in excess of $100,000 + benefits (my estimate).
Although no vote was taken, it appeared that all the present council members felt like they needed to raise our taxes - maybe to the rollback limit. There was some discussion of what to do next year if they couldn't go to a full 8% rollback rate next year. (We have a cut out currently that may allow us to have an 8% rollback rate even though most cities are capped at 3.5%?.
The discussion was - it's not that much! City Manager Jones even said he was late on his electric bill last month and had to pay a $20 late fee - didn't bother him that much. The problem is it is cumulative - next year the values will go up and the new rate will be built in. The county is planning to go up their full 8% too, the school will not lower their rate even though values are up, the ESD's are staying maxed out - it all adds up. I agree, if you have a family income of $200,000 plus, $20 is not that big a deal. Remember council members, much of your population is made up of folks that are retired and on fixed incomes. Also, we are getting closer to being built out - maybe we need to look at living more within our means..... Discussion ended about 7:45 p.m. and council then went into executive session to talk about lawsuits, city manager salary and something to do with some MUD property - they finally adjourned at 9:30 p.m.
===================
That's all for today - more near the week end. I've noticed Bee Cave and Lakeway Police have been busy keeping us safe. Early this morning 3 individuals broke into a store in the Galleria and were chased through Bee Cave and Lakeway - finally stopped and taken into custody near RM 2222. Thanks officers for keeping us safe!
If you would like to be added to my email list, send a note to lakeway@bain.us and I'll get it done. Don't forget to get a "Quick Shot" aerial photo of your home or property - $75 for at least 4 pictures. Sky Pictures - joe@skypict.com
Be safe out there - school started today and the buses are out in force - watch out for our kids - they are the future!
Joe Bain
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