20261007-002, 1107 Castle Ridge Road Wastewater Service Extension Request No. 6451 Memo — original pdf

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MEMORANDUM To: From: Mayor and City Council Michael Rogers, Assistant City Manager Susana Carbajal, Assistant City Manager Date: October 5, 2026 Subject: 1107 Castle Ridge Road Wastewater Service Extension Request No. 6451 Service Extension Requests (SERs) located outside of the City of Austin’s full purpose jurisdiction and not within the Desired Development Zone require City Council approval and review by the Environmental and Water and Wastewater Commissions. Austin Water and Austin Watershed Protection staff have completed the review for 1107 Castle Ridge Road Wastewater Service Extension Request (SER) No. 6451, and both departments recommend approval of the request. Summary of Proposed Development The 1107 Castle Ridge Road project consists of approximately 2.85 acres (Property). The Property is located entirely within the City’s 2-mile Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ), Impact Fee Boundary, Austin Water’s service area for wastewater, the Drinking Water Protection Zone, the Barton Creek Watershed, the Barton Springs Zone, and the Edwards Aquifer Contributing Zone. The Property is generally located west of Loop 360 and north of Lost Creek Boulevard, near City Council district 8 in zip code 78746. There is an existing single-family home on this lot that receives water service from Travis County Water Control and Improvement District (WCID) No. 10 and has a privately owned and operated onsite sewage facility (OSSF) for its wastewater service. Parkside Homes, LLC (Owner) is proposing to demolish the existing home, abandon the OSSF, and redevelop the tract with three single-family homes. The Owner requested that the City provide centralized wastewater service to the Property. In response to the request, Austin Water determined that the Owner must construct infrastructure to receive wastewater services from Austin Water. These requirements are reflected in SER No. 6451. Travis County WCID No. 10 will continue to provide retail water service to the Property. The Owner previously submitted SER No. 5845 and SER No. 6290. The initial application for SER No. 5845 was approved on consent by City Council on October 10, 2024, but subsequently expired. The Owner later submitted SER No. 6290 but it was denied by City Council on April 23, 2026, over concerns related to the ability for the property to remove itself from the ETJ, thereby no longer being held to the high standards of environmental protections required by the Save Our Springs Ordinance Date: Subject: October 5, 2026 1107 Castle Ridge Road Wastewater Service Extension Request No. 6451 Nearby SER Activity There are three previous water SERs located within one-half mile of the Property. Of these, one was approved by City Council, one was withdrawn prior to City Council consideration, and one application expired. For wastewater, there have been seven SER applications located within one-half mile of the Property, including two previous SERs for the Property. Of these, two were approved by City Council (including one for the Property), two were administratively approved, one was withdrawn prior to City Council consideration, one for the Property was denied by City Council, and one application expired. Austin Water Summary Austin Water staff have performed a technical review of the current wastewater SER application and have developed the wastewater service plan as outlined in SER No. 6451. The draft SER proposes an 180-foot extension from the nearest public wastewater main in Whitemarsh Valley Walk to the Property and an additional extension in an easement within the Property to serve the three proposed lots. The SER improvements will not cross any known environmental features. The Owner will be required to submit a subdivision plat to subdivide the property into three lots and construction plans for the related utility, drainage, water quality, and driveway improvements. The plat application and construction plans will be subject to all City of Austin code requirements and design criteria for properties located in the ETJ. The SER improvements will conform to all City Code requirements, be designed in accordance with City’s Environmental Criteria Manual and Utilities Criteria Manual and will be inspected by Austin Development Services. Therefore, Austin Water recommends approval of wastewater service as outlined in Service Extension Request No. 6451. Austin Watershed Protection Summary Austin Watershed Protection (WPD) staff completed the review of the current SER and recommend approval of the request. In the Barton Creek Watershed outside of the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, the Save Our Springs Ordinance limits the total amount of allowable watershed impervious cover to 20% of the net site area and construction on slopes greater than 15% would be limited. Based on the available information, a significant portion of the site contains slopes greater than 15%. No critical environmental features were identified, and the site is not within the critical water quality zone or water quality transition zone of Barton Creek. The site does not drain to occupied salamander habitat. If the City does not extend wastewater service to the site, OSSFs would be utilized as an alternative service option. However, the thin and rocky soil type onsite is not ideal for OSSFs and there are severe limitations for septic tank absorption fields and pond construction due to the shallow depth of bedrock. Additionally, Travis County rules require a lot size of at least one acre for OSSFs, and the currently proposed development would need to be redesigned for only two lots. A two-lot design would not necessarily reduce the total amount of impervious cover of the proposed Page 2 of 3 Date: Subject: October 5, 2026 1107 Castle Ridge Road Wastewater Service Extension Request No. 6451 development because the applicant would likely maximize the allowable impervious cover whether there are two or three lots. WPD staff did not recommend approval of the previous SERs (No. 5845 or SER No. 6290) primarily due to environmental impacts if the property were to be removed from the 2-mile ETJ (an option granted to property owners by Senate Bill 2038 effective September 1, 2023). Since then, it has been discovered that the Property is not eligible to petition for removal from Austin’s 2-mile ETJ because of its proximity to the Bee Caves Armory. Based on this new information, the site will be required to submit a site plan to Austin Development Services and comply with the applicable requirements in Austin’s Land Development Code for properties in Austin’s ETJ. This includes compliance with the Save Our Springs (SOS) Ordinance and environmental requirements such as impervious cover limits, creek and critical environmental feature protections, stormwater quality treatment standards, cut and fill limits, and slope protections. Therefore, WPD’s concerns about compliance with the City’s development regulations are no longer applicable and WPD recommends support for the approval of SER No. 6451. Other Community Considerations The property lies within the Camelot Section 3 subdivision, which was recorded in 1969. The proposed project will add two more houses to the Camelot Section 3 subdivision. This project aligns with City Council’s goals of increasing housing supply in the Austin community. The proposed subdivision of this existing large-lot single-family tract will result in similar density as the Lost Creek subdivision that is adjacent to and immediately south of this project. The existing subdivision was not subject to current environmental regulations, including the Save Our Springs Ordinance and Watershed Protection Ordinance, but a future subdivision would be subject to current water quality treatment requirements and environmental protections, including impervious cover limits. Consolidated City Recommendation In consideration of all factors related to this development, Austin Water and Austin Watershed Protection recommend approval of Service Extension Request No. 6451. Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact Austin Water Director Shay Ralls Roalson (Shay.Roalson@austintexas.gov) or Austin Watershed Protection Director Jorge Morales (Jorge.Morales@austintexas.gov). cc: T.C. Broadnax, City Manager Erika Brady, City Clerk Jason Hadavi, City Auditor Mary Jane Grubb, Municipal Court Clerk Judge Sherry Statman, Municipal Court CMO Executive Team Department Directors Shay Ralls Roalson, P.E., Director, Austin Water Jorge L. Morales, P.E., CFM, Director, Austin Watershed Protection Page 3 of 3