Karen Huber County Commissioner: AAS Growth

Austin American Statesman
Commentary
April 19, 2007

COMMENTARY

Huber: Growth plans are shortsighted

Karen Huber, LOCAL CONTRIBUTOR

Sunday, August 19, 2007

The proposed RGK Ranch subdivision, on Texas 71 west of Bee Caves, will be up for consideration by the Travis County Commissioners Court on Tuesday. The project could well be the poster child for problems caused by the lack of county land-use authority.

The project represents the extreme in abuse of liberalized interpretations of the land-use "grandfathering" law. The intent of the grandfathering legislation was to protect real estate developers from suffering losses because of regulations enacted midway through their projects. Interpretations of the vague law have been stretched to encourage rural landowners in unincorporated areas to get entitlements (like subdivision approvals) in place before land-use regulations can be enacted. Incorporated cities have those regulations, but they have been denied to counties.

The RGK Ranch subdivision is grandfathered from complying with Travis County's Interim Water Quality Ordinance because its submission was surreptitiously slipped in under the wire because the ordinance process was about to be implemented. The "grandfathering" from the most basic of water quality regulations sets up a scenario for the degradation of Bee Creek by this subdivision much like the recent damage to Hamilton Pool. Travis County has said it will pursue the developer responsible for the damage and sue, if necessary, for remediation costs. So how can RGK Ranch go forward when it is not obliged to comply with the ordinance's "cut and fill" provisions and has the potential to damage Bee Creek? It can because of the county's limited authority.

Those promoting grandfathering lead rural property owners to believe that it will increase their land value. But land value is not exclusively determined by grandfathering. The value of a parcel of land is influenced by numerous factors: road quality and access, nearby amenities, quality and appropriateness of adjacent developments, and the general health of the economy. Without land-use regulations, highways become clogged and unsafe; air pollution increases; roadways are blighted with billboards; offensive lighting and businesses result in places that are incompatible with residential areas; and streams are destroyed for personal enjoyment and water quality. Ultimately, these conditions not only negatively impact future land values and economic growth, but also have huge future tax implications because of the need — after the fact — to solve the problems caused by uncontrolled growth.

Who could fix it but won't? The Legislature could, but its failure to do so is driven by the real estate community's well-funded lobby and focus on short-term profits. Good developers and homebuilders will say that quality economic development plan with good land-use laws would be in their best interest because it gives them certainty for planning purposes. But, it seems, no real estate professional is going to fall on the sword in the name of good land-use laws.

Other stakeholders affecting land-use issues, including Lower Colorado River Authority, the Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, provide only occasional help. And in many cases, conflicting interests are involved. Landowners are caught in the middle.

What we desperately need is visionary leadership that understands the short- and long-term tradeoffs of sustainable growth. The region needs a leader who has the power and will to redirect what is ruining the Hill Country — and Texas — in this rapid growth environment.
But there is opportunity here. Why go through with the RGK Ranch subdivision as proposed? We need to do the responsible thing for the region, the state, the public, the landowners and the economy.

Uncontrolled growth in our rural areas will neither boost land values nor sustain economic growth. Doing it right and maximizing profits are not conflicting goals.

Huber, who is retired from the real estate industry and served on the county's Growth Dialog panel, lives in western Travis County.