By JO CLIFTON
Austin Monitor

A group of Lake Austin homeowners on Monday sued the city of Austin, claiming that the city’s notice concerning the zoning and waiver of environmental regulations on what is known as the Champion tract off of RM 2222, was inadequate and therefore violated the Texas Open Meetings Act.

According to the lawsuit filed by the Lake Austin Collective Inc., when City Council approved new zoning for the tract on City Park Road on Nov. 10, the notice failed to mention that it would also be approving waivers of environmental regulations as well as the Hill Country Roadway Ordinance.

As the Austin Monitor reported in April, the group notified the city of its intention to sue and gave council 45 days to post the item on its agenda again with notice of the pertinent waivers. However, the city failed to do so.

Attorney Bill Aleshire, an open meetings expert, filed the suit.

Although they do not usually comment on pending litigation, a spokesperson for the city released the following comment: “The City of Austin appreciates having had the opportunity to review the issue before the plaintiffs filed the lawsuit, but we disagree with Mr. Aleshire’s interpretation of the Texas Open meetings Act. We believe the City gave appropriate public notice about the subject matter to be discussed. In fact, the record shows that this issue had a robust public engagement process.”

This is a portion of the article by the Austin Monitor, an online, nonpartisan, 501(c)3 nonprofit publication that covers local government and politics in and around Austin. Read more at https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2017/06/lake-austin-group-sues-city-over-open-meetings/