"There was never a good, clear path," Mayor Kirk Watson told CBS Austin on October 14. "Today, we've been able to announce that we have come up with a good, clear path." That path is a proposal to have UT Austin convey the roughly 141-acre Lions Municipal Golf Course to the City of Austin. Anonymous donors are making a large gift to the university to help make it possible.
CBS Austin noted that "Save Muny" signs have become common in nearby neighborhoods. The course moves to the City through amendments to the 1989 Brackenridge Development Agreement, the document that governs what UT can do with its land along Lake Austin Boulevard. Those same amendments also set the height, density and lake-setback rules for the other 190 acres the university keeps. When City Council takes up the agreement on November 19, it will be voting on the golf course and on that rulebook in a single package.
Two Pieces of Land, One Agreement
The City Manager's October 14 memo lists five things the amended agreement would cover. They are the conveyance of Muny, an update to UT's lease at Mueller, an exchange of City rights-of-way, a proposed Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, and a mutually agreed regulating plan. In his message to Council, Watson called the regulating plan "essentially zoning for the area."
The deal also reaches a third Tarrytown landmark. According to Community Impact, the donation would let Muny go to the City and WAYA's campus go to the youth recreation nonprofit. Together the two properties cover about 155 acres, which Community Impact reported are appraised at more than $680 million. That figure is an appraisal. The size of the donors' gift has not been made public.
Here is how the two sides of the agreement compare, based on the City's terms summary for the Environmental Commission:
| Lions Municipal Golf Course | Remaining UT Brackenridge land | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | About 141 acres | 190.26 acres |
| Proposed owner | City of Austin | UT Austin |
| Intended use | 18-hole public course | Future private development under a regulating plan |
| Height | Not applicable | 65 feet for buildings along or north of Lake Austin Blvd; up to 105 feet for buildings south of the boulevard and not contiguous to it |
| Density | Not applicable | 0.6:1 FAR across the whole area, up to 5:1 on a single site |
| Coverage | Not applicable | 75% impervious cover overall, 85% per site |
| Lake setback | Not applicable | 200 feet from Lady Bird Lake |
Today, the Brackenridge tract holds UT student housing, the Brackenridge Field Laboratory, commercial buildings and other uses. Watson wrote that UT "doesn't have actual plans right now for the property's development." That is why these numbers matter. With no project on the table yet, the rules come first, and every future proposal will be measured against them.
How 65 Feet Becomes 105
The memo sums up the height limit as a cap of 65 feet "when viewed from Lake Austin Boulevard." The detailed terms are more specific. They say no building can be taller than 65 feet "when measured from LAB," meaning Lake Austin Boulevard. Buildings that touch the boulevard, and buildings north of it, top out at 65 feet. Buildings south of the boulevard that do not touch it can reach 105 feet. Both limits allow use of a height exception in City Code Section 25-2-531.
So the limit is written around the boulevard as a reference point. The 65-foot number describes the street edge. Taller buildings are allowed farther back on the lake side. The terms also say compatibility requirements apply north of the boulevard.
The density rule has its own logic. Setbacks from the river, a tributary and Lake Austin Boulevard mean less than the full 190.26 acres can actually be built on. Because of that, individual sites may go above the 0.6:1 average, up to 5:1, unless Council approves more through a rezoning. The terms add that sites developed later "may be less than .6:1 or may be undevelopable" once the area-wide limit is used up, and that the City is not responsible for settling disputes over leftover capacity. In practice, the total amount of building is capped, and whichever sites come forward first will use up the most of it.
Watson described the goal as development that "provides housing, retail amenities for the neighborhood, height limits, setbacks from the lake, open space, and density provisions, while also sustaining a commitment to affordable housing." A separate list of proposed uses splits the land into an Exhibit A-1 area south of the boulevard and an Exhibit A-2 area north of it. The south-side list includes hotel-motel, research and recreation uses. The north-side list opens with residential types that run from single-family and townhouse to multifamily and condominium, followed by business offices and other commercial uses.
What the Agreement Doesn't Settle Yet
Three weeks before the vote, several questions that matter to anyone on this side of MoPac are still open:
- Which sites change first. None of the documents assign uses or building capacity to the Field Laboratory, the apartment sites or particular frontage lots. Community Impact reported that UT's existing Brackenridge Apartments would stay for the near future. That housing could be rebuilt somewhere else once redevelopment starts. The terms commit UT to replacing existing affordable student housing on university property, though not necessarily within the Brackenridge area.
- The TIRZ boundary. The proposed reinvestment zone would cover non-University projects in the agreement area and would follow the City's TIRZ affordable-housing policy, without requiring the affordable housing to be built inside the zone. A local government corporation would be created alongside it. The memo says the TIRZ and the regulating plan would be drafted after Council acts.
- Which streets change hands. The City's rights-of-way listed in an exhibit would be vacated only if that is reasonably feasible, public safety can be maintained, and UT pays for any utility relocation. Community Impact described these as rights-of-way on UT's campuses that would move to university oversight.
- The UT Regents. A final agreement needs approval from both Council and UT's Board of Regents.
A piece of the deal sits across town, too. UT's ground lease near the Dell Pediatric Research Institute at Mueller, at 1400 Barbara Jordan Blvd., would be updated to allow student and faculty housing.
The Calendar Between Now and Spring
- October 21. City staff were scheduled to brief the Environmental Commission at 6 p.m. at the Permitting and Development Center, 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Drive, according to the commission's agenda.
- October 27. A Planning Commission briefing was set for this date, as reported by Community Impact.
- November 19. City Council considers the amended agreement.
- Early 2027. If Council approves, staff take the regulating plan back to the commissions.
- Spring 2027. The regulating plan returns to Council.
The City's boards and commissions page says the public can comment in person or by phone at properly noticed meetings, and suggests contacting each board's staff liaison to register. The Muny Conservancy has posted a suggested letter and council contact instructions for supporters ahead of the vote.
Supporters have made their case with history. Muny opened in 1924, became the first public golf course in the South to integrate in 1950, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and averages more than 75,000 rounds a year. In the Conservancy's announcement, co-chair Ben Crenshaw said:
"To see a path forward that could preserve all 18 holes for future generations is deeply moving. But this is not the time to let up."
District 10 Council Member Marc Duchen, whose district includes the course, told CBS Austin he hopes a majority of his colleagues will "work with us to make the deal happen." Community Impact quoted Ken Tiemann, chair of the Save Historic Muny District, saying the group "fully and enthusiastically supports this proposed agreement."
A Second Clock on the Same Shoreline
The Brackenridge rules are not the only long-term change coming to Tarrytown's lake edge. The City's Redbud Trail Bridge project is in detailed design. The scope now includes rehabilitating suitable parts of the existing Emmet Shelton Bridge, building a new bridge beside it, and adding safer walking and biking connections. The City's schedule puts construction bidding in spring or summer 2027, with construction running from summer 2027 through fall 2031.
If Council and the Regents approve the deal, the regulating plan for UT's land along Lake Austin Boulevard would go back to Council in spring 2027. Construction on the Redbud Trail bridge is scheduled to start that summer and run through fall 2031.
If you own a home in Tarrytown and want to talk through what the Brackenridge rules could mean for your street as the regulating plan takes shape, Lesley Taylor is following every step from the November 19 vote through spring 2027. Let's Connect.
