A Travis County District judge on Friday instructed the city of Bee Cave and the owners of the West Austin Business Park to craft an order by Jan. 10 to temporarily halt its construction until the case can go to a jury trial.
Judge Laurie Eiserloh’s letter also ordered the industrial warehouse to stop violating the city’s noise ordinance and that both sides should work to find a trial date. She also indicated the order should deny all other relief, including several of the defendants’ motions that sought to throw out the case.
In two court hearings last month, city officials said the construction goes against the development plan the city and the landowner had agreed to in 2015. Residents said the 269,959-square-foot facility will lower their property values and harm the environment. Lawyers for the developers said that because the warehouse is in Bee Cave’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, rather than its city limits, the developers don’t have to report site plans to the city nor get its approval.
More: Hearing concludes without decision on construction of industrial warehouse near Bee Cave
The injunction hearing began on Nov. 12, but Eiserloh quickly determined the court would need more time to hear from both sides. The judge ended the second day of the hearing on Nov. 20 by saying she did not know which way she would decide.
“I know we have, on the neighbors’ side, a lot of frustration,” Eiserloh said. “Those were beautiful homes out there that I saw, and I took very close notes of that. I know on the developer side, there’s a lot of frustration, a lot of money on the line that you all made very clear continues to be an expense to you.”
A partner in Velocis, the Dallas-based private equity real estate firm that is building the facility near Texas 71 and Serene Hills Drive, testified that for each three months of paused construction, the company is at risk of losing between $500,000 to $1 million. Paul Smith said that between November 2023 and August 2024, the company has spent about $21 million on construction costs.
The project, which was court-ordered to stop construction in October, is part of the Sweetwater Crossing property, owned by Wheelock Communities.
When the 40-foot concrete tilt walls went up in August, city officials received complaints from nearby residents and filed a lawsuit against Velocis and Wheelock. KBC Advisors, an investor in the business park, later joined the defendants. Eppright Homes, the city of Lakeway and Madrone Canyon Residential Community also joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs, backing Bee Cave.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Judge tells Bee Cave, warehouse builder to craft stop-work agreement
