Murphy’s Creek now a TIF

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 13, 2000

The area originally known as the Cook Farm, now known as Murphy’s Creek, became a tax increment finance district after the adoption of a resolution at Tuesday night’s Austin City Planning Commission meeting.

Wednesday, December 13, 2000

The area originally known as the Cook Farm, now known as Murphy’s Creek, became a tax increment finance district after the adoption of a resolution at Tuesday night’s Austin City Planning Commission meeting.

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Taxes levied after any development is complete will obviously be substantially higher than they were when it was undeveloped land. When an area becomes a TIF district, the money raised through the increase in taxes will be used to provide assistance to pay for a portion of the development.

The area will be developed by Podawiltz Development from St. Cloud. The facilities will include a two-story, 88-unit rental townhome structure, with an attached garage. An additional portion of the land will include lots intended for single-family new home construction.

The comprehensive plan for the watershed area includes a paved pedestrian trail and a park, which will be available for use by citizens of Austin, as well as residents of Murphy’s Creek.

Also during the meeting, the commission approved two variance resolutions and two appeals, while rejecting one variance request.

Steven J. Carroll requested a 620-square-foot variance in order to build a structure for his various vehicles. Carroll accused the commission of discrimination, since other homeowners in his neighborhood have constructed buildings that appear larger than the code regulations stipulate.

"The commission looks at each request on its own merits," Commission Chairperson Brian Johnson said.

Saying that "codes are made to be broken," Carroll proposed that he could move the building closer to the house if the commission would grant him the variance. Ultimately the commission denied the request without considering alterations.

In another action, Jon Boyer’s request for a variance was approved, bringing his property to 13 percent greenspace. Boyer is the owner of Precision Signs.

Two appeals to code, submitted by First Congregational Church for an increase in the required size of directional signs and US West Communications for a decrease in the number of required parking stalls, were approved.

The approved appeals and variance resolutions will be forwarded to the City Council for approval at the Dec. 18 meeting.