October 2011
Lake Travis
Economic Impact Report

Comissioners Court bans floating habitable structures on Lake Travis

By Joe Olivieri
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Community Impact Newspaper

The Travis County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to permanently ban floating habitable structures on Lake Travis during its May 24 meeting.

About 35 residents attended the meeting to oppose the structures. Those who spoke cited safety, water quality and cost of services as reasons for their opposition.

Commissioners Margaret Gómez and Karen Huber thanked residents for participating.

"We are not talking about navigable houseboats," Huber said. "People may live in them from time to time. We're talking about habitable structures that are permanently anchored."

The issue of floating habitable structures reached the court when a developer proposed a 120-home marina designed to float in a cove near Lago Vista.

Developer John Shipley addressed the court in April and asked to meet with county staff.

"We met with the developer and he had a nice presentation, but we still have serious issues with this type of development in this type of a location," Steve Manilla, executive director for the county's Transportation and Natural Resources Department, said May 24.

Manilla later noted that Shipley's designs included sprinklers for fire safety, but said fluctuating lake levels and "not having access to dry land" concerned staff.

Shipley did not attend the May 24 meeting. Manilla said he was unsure if he was directly invited, but "he knew we were coming back to court."

Residents urged the court to oppose floating habitable structures on the lake. Currently, the Lower Colorado River Authority has banned building the structures there through Oct. 31.

Resident Dave Evans described potential fire hazards in the proposed marina.

"There is no direct fire road access," he said. "If there's a fire, the only courses of action would be to wait for a ferry—imagine evacuating that many people in a matter of minutes—and the other is to swim."

He said the area's tall, steep cliffs prevent first responders from fighting a fire from above or having available fireboats fight it from below.

Manilla noted that access, particularly during stormy weather, would be difficult.

"On the Fourth of July, folks are popping off fireworks. They think, 'I'm OK, I'm over a lake.' It just takes one to veer off and catch a bad wind," he said.

Diane Crumley Dee said there would be no way for local authorities to enforce or inspect these structures if built, and that nearby residents' rights have been violated.

"I don't want to hear that your hands are tied and there's nothing we can do," she said. "If you are against something, vote no."

Rod Schaffner said he was concerned about what would happen to the marina's waste disposal system during a flood.

Other residents mentioned Lake Travis' history of flash flooding, Travis County's lack of large fireboats and the cost for the county and LCRA to develop rules to regulate floating habitable structures.

Lake Travis is a flood control reservoir that also supplies water to the City of Austin and downstream communities, according to documents attached to the meeting agenda.

According to the LCRA, the lake has 7,000 permitted boat slips in marinas and 7,000 private boat docks, as well as five known floating habitable structures.

Link to original article

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