BEE CAVE, Texas — Construction has resumed on a warehouse facility in Bee Cave as the city and neighbors continue to fight to stop the project.
For months, the city has been fighting to halt construction on the West Austin Business Park near the Madrone Canyon neighborhood.
A court order on Wednesday allowed the developers to continue construction as the case awaits trial in August.
Neighbors in the area have argued that construction of the facility has caused major noise, light and environmental pollution near their homes. They’ve were fighting to get a second temporary restraining order to stop the project, until a full jury trial can go ahead.
“In today’s order, the court flatly rejected the city of Bee Cave’s attempt to halt our project and expressly allows our team to resume construction and complete the project safely and in compliance with the noise guidelines established by the Development Agreement,” said Paul Smith, partner with Velocis, one of the developers. “As our history shows, we take pride in being a responsible and valuable partner within the communities where we operate. Our team is committed to finding a quick resolution to any outstanding concerns which will avoid a long and costly trial for the City of Bee Cave and its taxpayers.”
On Dec. 20, 2024, a Travis County judge granted an application for the city and the developers to submit drafts of temporary injunctions on the project, in order to force the developers to follow all of the city’s noise ordinances.
The project stems from a Development Agreement made with the City of Bee Cave in 2015 to transform 400 acres of land in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), known as the “Eastland Tract,” into a mix of residential and commercial spaces.
The city claims it had no knowledge of what this specific area of land near the intersection of State Highway 71 and Serene Hills Drive would turn into, and that the developers did not receive proper permitting.
Developers dispute these claims and say the project received approval from several government entities like the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Lake Travis Fire Rescue. Since the property is in the city’s ETJ, developers claim it didn’t have to go through the typical city approval process for the project, and was not subject to the city’s zoning ordinances.
According to the original Development Agreement, developers also claim the Design Review Committee is the deciding factor of what the land gets used for, not the city. The agreement also permits commercial use, which includes warehouse use.
Back in October 2024, a Travis County judge granted a temporary restraining order that stopped construction on the project for 14 days, until they could hold more temporary injunction hearings.
In November 2024, the court heard from the city and developers two more times before the judge decided to let them submit drafts of a temporary injunction, on the basis of developers needing to comply with the city’s noise ordinances.
A jury trial is expected to take place on Aug. 18, 2025.
According to the developers, construction of the West Austin Business Park is expected to be mostly completed by March 2025.
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