Hudson Bend residents study possibility of becoming a city

The residents of Hudson Bend technically live within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Austin, but the area — and community — is well-defined. The roughly 4-squaremile area jutting into Lake Travis has several thousand occupants living in just over a thousand living units, according to U.S. Census data.

And some residents think it’s about time the area became its own city: the city of Hudson Bend.

A group of Hudson Bend residents met in April and May to discuss the prospect of incorporating into a city, mailing postcards out to the majority of Hudson Bend residents and inviting them to participate. A committee of concerned citizens has formed, with Hudson Bend resident Alton Moore at the helm. During the May meeting, more than 100 residents attended to hear their options for incorporation.

“There’s a sense of community, basically,” Moore said. “I’ve talked to a lot of people, and I’ve never had anybody admit they want to be annexed by Austin, or if they do it’s a minority position. There’s a sense of community. It’s eclectic, people don’t tend to bother each other, and everybody is nice and encouraging, so that’s the number one reason (to incorporate). Second are Austin taxes and regulations. ... Those things bother us about Austin.”

Because Hudson Bend falls under Austin’s ETJ, the options for incorporation are constrained. Either they can ask Austin to be removed from the ETJ — a request that Moore and the rest of the committee are confident the Austin City Council will deny, after the requisite six months — and then hold an election to incorporate. Or Hudson Bend can petition to be annexed by Austin.

That roundabout method of incorporation involves getting a petition signed by the owners of 50 percent or more of the property in Hudson Bend and then waiting for an answer from Austin. After six months, if Austin isn’t ready to start the annexation process and can’t provide city services to the area, Hudson Bend then has permission to leave the ETJ.

“City Council direction we’ve received in the past has been not to encour- age incorporation within the ETJ,” Austin city planner Virginia Collier said. “So they would probably receive some sort of resolution from the City Council regarding their request. My expectation is that City Council will not support the request, which brings (Hudson Bend) to the next step.”

Collier said Moore and several other residents met with her in May and she informed them she believed it would be around 40 years before Austin tries to annex Hudson Bend. Moore said he and other board members estimate it will be closer to 10 years. Hudson Bend already gets water service from Travis County Water and Control Improvement District 17.

Committee member Dianne Bartlett, a Realtor who lives in Hudson Bend, said Hudson Bend has problems with residents violating deed restrictions, so there are reasons for Hudson Bend to want the regulatory power of a city — whether as their own or part of Austin.

“One neighbor ... made an effort to point out to the county that there was a fairly large development that had inadequate sewer,” Bartlett said. “They basically got nowhere with it.”

Mickey Decker, Hudson Bend resident and the District 17 vice president, said she believes there are other solutions.

“I’m opposed to ‘incorporating’ due to additional taxes and expensive operating costs,” Decker said in an email. “I definitely do not want to be ‘annexed’ into the (city of Austin). My suggestion is simply work on the deed restrictions, which legally can be policed by the county or the sheriff ’s department.”

Bartlett and Moore said they’ve heard Hudson Bend residents say they want the area to have minimal ordinances. And they want to avoid a hike in property taxes. Moore said the board expects property taxes might rise by 10 percent if Hudson Bend incorporates. If they are annexed by Austin, property taxes might go up 40 percent, Moore estimated.

“The overall question in people’s minds is when do we do something,” Moore said. “This appears to be the main point of contention, and nobody really knows the answer.”