NEWS BRIEFS
News from the Lake Travis-Westlake area
Tuscan Village to provide housing for all ages
Changes to the Tuscan Village development were approved Sept. 19 to allow all ages.
210 apartments 21 cluster cottages MIXED AGE HOUSING
BY TAYLOR CRIPE
Several residents said they were concerned about the age restriction being removed from the PUD, as it would likely generate more trac on the main street. “Kids are going to live there if you drop the restriction,” Lakeway resident Nina Davis said. “If you drop it from age 55 it’s going to be a lot more dense with a lot more trac, and that area really cannot tolerate that. It’s a perfect place for senior living, and I would hate for our senior community to be denied that.” The multifamily apartments will consist of one- and two-bedroom apartments. Those apartments and the cluster cottages will all be available for rent once building is complete. The developer said there will likely be a separate building for the age 55-plus restricted apartments.
The Tuscan Village planned unit development, or PUD, will now have housing for all ages fol- lowing action taken at the Sept. 19 Lakeway City Council meeting. The original PUD brought before the Lakeway Zoning and Planning Commission in August had an age restriction of 55 for all 210 apartments and 21 cluster cottages. As of the Sept. 19 meeting, half of the housing will now be reserved for age 55 and over, and the rest will be open to all ages, according to city documents. On Sept. 7, Carlson, Brigance, & Doering engi- neers reapplied on behalf of the owner HSDLake- way Holdings to consider having the age restriction removed to provide more working-class housing to the area.
LOHMANS SPUR RD.
50% for age 55 and up 50% for below age 55
620
SOURCE: CITY OF LAKEWAY COMMUNITY IMPACT
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The amended PUD also approves changes to the street, sidewalks and a shared-use path. For the street, the developer has agreed to build a four-lane divided cross section with a 5-foot wide sidewalk on the west side and a 10-foot shared-use path on the east side, according to the city. The developers are targeting mid-November for breaking ground on the PUD.
Options considered as Austin Energy customers face rate hikes
BY BEN THOMPSON
RISING RATES The increased rates from Austin Energy could result in the average customer paying over $420 dollars more a year.
Austin Energy customers are facing the rst increase to their base electricity rates in a decade. AE’s base rate covers the city elec- tric utility’s operations costs. AE’s current rate system is split into ve tiers, which reward customers for less power usage. Proposed changes compress the residential rate tiers from ve to three and bump AE’s xed monthly customer service charge from $10 to $25. The proposed 7.6% base rate increase would cost the average res- ident $15.56 more on their monthly power bill—nearly $187 per year— bringing $48 million more in annual
620
N
+150%
base rate increase 7.6% $15.56 more for average resident monthly
$25
The location opened Oct. 6.
$20
additional separate monthly charge
COURTESY TRAVIS COUNTY TAX OFFICE
total increase in average customer annual bill
$10
$420+
Travis County Tax OceopensoRM620
$48M more in revenue for Austin Energy
Current rate
Proposed rate
SOURCE: AUSTIN ENERGYCOMMUNITY IMPACT
BY SUMAIYA MALIK
If passed, a typical AE customer could see their annual utility bills spike by more than $420.
revenue. The city utility is planning a separate rate hike that could add $20 to residents’ monthly bills.
A Travis County Tax Oce opened at 8110 N. RM 620 in Northwest Austin on Oct. 6. The over 4,000-square-foot facility is located at the southwest corner of RM 620 and Wilson Parke Avenue. A three-lane drive-thru allows residents to receive customer service from their car. The lobby is equipped with ve transac- tion stations and seating for 42 people. “This is a big deal for the more than 350,000 residents in my precinct, many who found themselves having to travel 20 to 30 miles to reach a tax oce loca- tion,” Precinct 3 County Commissioner Ann Howard said. In September 2021, the Travis County Commissioners Court approved the purchase of the RM 620 location, which was previously a bank building. The county spent about $400,000 on building renovations.
Bee Cave takes rst steps toward new public library
UPGRADING THE LIBRARY The new library will be almost ve times larger than the existing library and oer several amenities to residents. 24,000 square feet 45,000 books
3-story building Laptop docking work stations
BY TAYLOR CRIPE
Construction for a new Bee Cave public library is one step closer after City Council approved measures allowing the city to begin searching for architectural rms and a construction manager to oversee the project at the Sept. 27 meeting. City sta¤ are recommending the nal location of the library be considered. The new library is tentatively set for The Backyard development, a new multiuse development area projected to open in 2024 west of Bee Cave Central Park. Bee Cave City Manager Clint Garza said the city had
O ces for administrative use
Individual study rooms
SOURCE: CITY OF BEE CAVECOMMUNITY IMPACT
already received proposals from di¤erent rms wanting to do construction and expects to get some for architec- ture soon as well. More development plans will likely not be available for library planning until January.
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LAKE TRAVIS WESTLAKE EDITION • OCTOBER 2022
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