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33 acres of ETJ released to Dripping Springs

Friday, September 7, 2018 by Jessi Devenyns

Soon, Austin will have 33 fewer acres in its extraterritorial jurisdiction. Virginia Collier from the Planning and Zoning Department informed the Environmental Commission at its Sept. 5 meeting that the city of Dripping Springs has requested the release of approximately 33 acres of the city of Austin’s ETJ near the intersection of U.S. Highway 290 West and Nutty Brown Road to be included in Dripping Springs’ ETJ. She told the commission that annexation of these tracts by the city of Austin is not anticipated in the long term. According to Collier, staff looks for equivalent environmental protection to be provided on land released from the city’s jurisdiction, and in the case of the two tracts of land that were to be released, city staff found the environmental regulations to be similar. “The word ‘similar’ – you are OK with that?” asked commission Chair Linda Guerrero. Since the tracts have already been developed under Austin’s ETJ requirements, both Collier and Environmental Officer Chris Herrington felt comfortable with the environmental requirements of Dripping Springs. When asked what the reason for this release was, Collier informed the commission that the property owners of both tracts feel like they are more a part of the Dripping Springs community than of Austin. According to the city presentation, the idea behind this release is to “allow for effective and efficient urban planning, the review and approval of land development, and the planning of future municipal services for this area.” The commission unanimously recommended the release of the ETJ tracts to Dripping Springs.

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