Official Website of the City of Horseshoe Bay, Texas

PRESS RELEASE – 5/9/06

HEADLINE:  Horseshoe Bay Mayor and Council….Moving Forward

            The City Council held its regular meeting May 9^th.  There were 25 interested citizens in attendance to hear the Mayor and Council discuss and act on eighteen agenda items.

            The Council passed a resolution adopting a Residential Homestead Tax Exemption.  This is a legal process required by law to transfer the 20% exemption from the former Lake LBJ MUD to the City.

            Councilman Wood gave an interesting, comprehensive presentation on the City’s water treatment and distribution system.  The new water treatment plant will begin full operation next week on time and on budget.  Total cost of the project was ten million dollars.  This state of the art plant has the capacity to turn four million gallons of lake water per day into potable water that exceeds all safety and quality requirements.  The plant has the capability to expand its production to eight million gallons per day for a cost of two million.  Our 96 miles of distribution lines are in good condition and only normal maintenance is anticipated in the coming years.

            General Manager Mike Thuss gave a very favorable budget report:  revenues are ahead of schedule and expenses are less than expected.  Mike thanked members of the City staff for participating in Earth Day activities on April 22^nd.  The event was sponsored by the Horseshoe Bay POA.  Thuss has been working with Centex to re-route construction vehicles in order to alleviate traffic flow problems by the Yacht Club.  Thuss thanked Centex for its cooperation.

            Alderwoman Wines made a motion to form a Planning and Zoning committee.  The Council determined that the issue needed further study prior to considering a committee.

            Mayor Lambert advised the Council that he and Alderman Babcock had spent a great deal of time during the past week in conference with City attorneys and working together regarding a Zoning Ordinance.  The Mayor made the following proposals for working on the Zoning Ordinance and the Subdivision Ordinance that were accepted by the Council.

            The City attorneys will complete a draft Zoning Ordinance during the week of May 22.  The document will be comprehensive regarding the basics of zoning in Texas and will be tailored to the City.  The basic plan for tailoring is to include existing deed restrictions from all 11 subdivisions in the Zoning Ordinance.  About 35 restrictions should be consistent across the City, and an appendix will have unique requirements for each of the 11 subdivisions.  This will be verbatim from each Subdivision’s deed restrictions.  There will be a map for each Subdivision that will have the use classification for every tract.

            John Bird has taken the lead in work related to the Subdivision Ordinance, and he prepared a list of key issues that was handed out at the last Council meeting.  An updated list was handed out and completed by the Council.  Answering these questions and others that arise will be the basis for finalizing the draft of the Subdivision Ordinance.

            The following will be available at City Hall and on the City’s website by May 26:  Draft Zoning Ordinance (will be over 100 pages), a list of “enhancements” to existing deed restrictions and known deed restrictions (such as minimum house size) that should be considered for modification in the Zoning Ordinance, and the list of key issues related to the Subdivision Ordinance.

            The City Council may complete work on the Zoning Ordinance and resolve the issues related to the Subdivision Ordinance by June 20 by the following schedule:

            June 6, 3:00 – Regular Council Meeting

June 7, 9:00 – Workshop on Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances, focus on HSB and HSB West, North and South Zones, priority will be Zoning Ordinance

June 12, 9:00 – Public Hearing on Zoning Ordinance

June 12, following Public Hearing – second workshop, focus on other zones, priority will be Zoning Ordinance

June 20, 3:00 – Regular Council Meeting

            Input will be solicited from the various POA’s and developers, and input from the community is encouraged either by talking to a Council member, email, or attending any of the meetings.

            The formation of Zoning and Subdivision ordinance is a major step in the City’s future development during these challenging times.  Again we encourage your input.  Our website is www.horseshoe-bay-tx.gov.           

                                            Respectfully submitted

                                                                                                                    Buddy Schrader

                                                                                                                    Public Information Officer

 

 

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