AUSTIN, Texas — A landowner has filed a petition requesting that an election be called for a piece of South Austin to cut ties with the city.
The area, which is on Menchaca Road south of Slaughter Lane, falls under Austin's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), which is an unincorporated area surrounding city limits. It's 96 areas filled with mostly commercial properties and a few single-family homes.
The petition was filed June 7 and is the first one that has called for an election.
"There are two options that city council can make," said Sara Groff, the principal planner for Jurisdictional Matters. "This can go before city council, and they can choose not to host an election. And then it would just be released by operation of law."
If the area is released from the city, properties would fall under Travis County regulations instead of the city's. Public health and safety and environmental standards are mostly regulated.
"Anybody that's developed in this area, developed under city of Austin's environmental standards, any new development – if this area leaves – will be developed under Travis County standards," Groff said.
ETJs only receive minimal city services and oversight, if any at all.
In this case, for the issue to go on the November ballot, Groff said, "If 5% or more of the registered voters residing in the area sign the petition, the City may hold an election to consider the release of the area described in the petition."
For the petition to go through, it will first need to meet all the criteria that falls under Senate Bill 2038, which gives property owners an easy out to break from certain regulations. It went into effect last year, and Groff said thousands of acres have already been released since.