By Moses Leos III.
Buda’s pursuit of incorporating 53 acres into its city limits has caused a rift with homeowners in Marlboro Country, located in Buda’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ).
The land in question lies along the west side of FM 1626, extending from Eulalah Lane to Elm Grove Elementary.
Some residents claim commercial properties could take hold in the annexation area – a claim Buda denies.
The issue began in October when the city asked the council to approve incorporating the area into its growth plan. According to a report compiled by city staff, it was deemed “high priority.”
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Chance Sparks, director of planning, said Buda wants to manage growth in its ETJ. In addition, the city aims to take the city of Austin up on its regulatory agreement signed when Buda became a home rule city in 2008.
That agreement calls for Austin to slowly relinquish its ETJ, which wraps around Buda, when the city expands its limits.
Sparks said Buda also aims to provide residents with city services, such as water and sewage. ETJ residents do not receive those services.
While the city will see a tax increase with the annexation, Sparks maintains it was not the motivating factor.
“When you take a look at how much we get [in property tax from newly annexed areas], they are not huge numbers,” he said.
However, it’s an unpopular move for several residents in the Marlboro Country Subdivision, which lies in the proposed annexation area.
Resident Danny Briscoe, who has lived near Eulalah Lane for 31 years, is adamant about staving off annexation.
Briscoe said the city does not offer services he doesn’t already have at his home. He already has a well, along with septic service. Receiving trash pickup doesn’t justify being taxed an additional 29 cents per $100 evaluation – Buda’s current property tax rate.
“They aren’t giving me anything I don’t already have,” Briscoe said.
But Briscoe and resident Wiley McAdoo believe the city has an ulterior motive.
They all fear the annexation could allow for a commercial entity to set up shop, thereby raising their property tax rates exponentially. It would force homeowners, who have lived in the area for years, out of their own homes.
“They have a plan of some sort,” McAdoo, who has lived near Hy Road since 1978, said. “No one else knows about it.”
Sparks said the city is preventing such a move by placing the land under AG-Agriculture Zoning status, which limits what can be placed in the area.
In addition, Sparks said several homeowners have claimed homestead exemption status on their homes, preventing any excessive taxation on their property.
However, residents have been up in arms regarding the city’s lack of communication on the issue.
The first public hearing on Dec. 3 saw several homeowners in the Marlboro Country subdivision try to get answers from the city. Residents say they are frustrated with the city’s inability to answer their queries.
Questions such as why the city is going through with the annexation, and why the city annexing only a portion of the neighborhood, went unanswered.
On Dec. 12, a letter was mailed to residents that answered those questions. They were also posted on the city’s website.
Why they delay?
Sparks said this particular annexation is a new path for Buda. Previously, the city dealt with commercial landowners. Working with residential landowners created new challenges, which Sparks said led to the delay.
“This type of annexation is new for (Buda),” Sparks said. “It’s deeply personal. It brings a different relationship.”
But residents feel the city’s lack of communication breeds a sinister plot.
“All I know is the less I’m being kept in the dark, the less I argue,” Briscoe said. “However, the less I know, the more they gain.”
Keeping the status quo on the land could hold dire consequences for homeowners, according to Sparks. The worst-case scenario could be a developer coming in without restriction, forcing homeowners to go through litigation to protect their lands.
With the agricultrual zoning of the area, the city aims to create a buffer from commercial entities.
The Buda planning and zoning (P&Z) commission cannot try to rezone the area for commercial use without the consent of homeowners. Many residential landowners even have deed restrictions which prevent such a move. Essentially, Sparks said the annexation is a “safety net” for affected homeowners.
Ultimately, Sparks said Buda is not attempting to wring people from their homes.
“We’re not trying to kick people off of their lands. We don’t want that to happen,” he said. “We want to manage growth.”
But now, McAdoo and Briscoe want to ensure the agricultural exemption and protected status is put into writing so they can keep their lands for as long as they live.
“If [the agricultural exemption] doesn’t happen, people will be forced out [of their homes] before their time,” McAdoo said.
