Horseshoe Bay Council nears completion in annexation proceedings

By Emily Hilley-Sierzchula

The Horseshoe Bay City Council at its meeting on Tuesday, March 15, took another step toward completion of its annexation process. Council members officially read the annexation ordinance and dealt with a few errors.

The council on Feb. 16 annexed just over 600 acres within its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), but staff members initially were not able to obtain a development agreement from all eligible landowners, said Stan Farmer, city manager.

In the end, the council did not have to vote on whether to annex 50 acres in three portions of properties in Area 4 because “two of the three owners signed development agreements at the last minute,” Farmer said. Human error accounts for the last parcel in question because the mailing was not addressed correctly, he said.

At the February meeting, no parcels in annexation Area 4, a 2,000-foot section south of TX 71, were annexed.

The remaining parcel in Area 4 will be included along with five others in Area 2 that will be considered for a separate annexation ordinance.

The council unanimously decided to start the annexation process anew on five properties in Area 2 that “fell through the proverbial crack,” Farmer said. Although included in annexation notices from the city, “the five properties were not noticed in the paper correctly,” he explained. The properties were not agriculturally exempt and therefore not entitled to a possible development agreement.

New notices will have to be published and two more public hearings are required.

Those hearings are set for council meetings on April 19 and May 17.

By law, the city has a deadline of July 18 to complete the entire annexation process.  

For more on this story, see The Highlander on Friday, March 18.