Horseshoe Bay OKs annexation of hundreds of acres of land
CONNIE SWINNEY • PICAYUNE STAFF
HORSESHOE BAY — Horseshoe Bay leaders approved absorbing several hundred acres of property into the city limits as a means to manage potential growth along the corridors of the community, officials said.
Horseshoe Bay City Council members June 24 approved annexing parcels along Texas 71 and FM 2147; Ram Rock and Applerock golf courses in Horseshoe Bay West; and a Lower Colorado River Authority property at the end of Ferguson Road on the westside.
“These properties are all overwhelmingly undeveloped,” Horseshoe Bay City Manager Stan Farmer said. “It’s basically to give us more oversight for our future growth because some of these are big intersections on the edge of our city.”
Three businesses will join the city limits as a result of the annexation: a veterinarian clinic and an assisted living facility, both in the 26,000 block of Texas 71, as well as a real estate office on FM 2147 West just off 71.
These properties were within the city’s extra-territorial jurisdiction (ETJ) because of their locations adjacent to the city limits.
Prior to annexation, city service options for the properties included contracting for fire service for several hundred dollars per year.
With the annexation, those contracts would dissolve, and businesses will not only adhere to city codes and ordinances and pay city taxes but receive services such as emergency and police coverage.
“So the police would start patrolling out there on a nightly basis,” Farmer said. “(Being annexed is) not a lot of cost to them or revenue to us.”
Farmer estimated the city would add about $15,000 more to the tax revenue.
Annexing those properties also sets parameters for new development.
“Worst-case scenario: Somebody could put a junkyard on these properties, and we couldn’t stop them (prior to annexation). Nobody’s contemplating that, but that’s an example of how (the city) really couldn’t control what goes out there,” he said. “Imagine if that’s on the edge of your city, and somebody does something like that.”
Larger tracts of undeveloped land within the newly annexed area include 25-30 acres along Texas 71 adjacent to the Horseshoe Bay Airport; one parcel owned by Summit Rock LLC; and another owned by Horseshoe Bay Resort.
“They’re part of the community,” Farmer said. “Let’s just bring it in and move on.”
connie@thepicayune.com