Circle C Ranch (also known as Circle C) is a large master-planned community in southwest

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, USA. Development of Circle C Ranch began in 1982, with the first homes in the community in built in 1986. During development, the subdivision was featured prominently in a long and contentious environmental legal battle regarding urban development in the vicinity of Barton Springs and over

Edwards Aquifer The Edwards Aquifer is one of the most prolific artesian aquifers in the world. Located on the eastern edge of the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas, it is the source of drinking water for two million people, and is the primary water s ...

. The controversy surrounding its development and later

annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

by the city of Austin was a landmark in municipal annexation rights in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Today, Circle C Ranch includes more than 5,614 homes. Amenities include an 18-hole golf course called the Grey Rock Golf Club, tennis club, four swim centers, a fire station, and more than of dedicated parkland. The Circle C Swim Center has a year-round, outdoor, Olympic-size heated pool. A second, family-oriented swimming pool complex, with adjacent office space and meeting rooms, was finished at the end of January 2012. The third pool, found in the Avaña section of Circle C, was built in 2014 and opened in 2015. The fourth pool, located in the GreyRock section of Circle C, opened in 2017.

History

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and Circle C Ranch

Development of Circle C Ranch began in 1982 when Gary Bradley, at the time a part-owner of the

Schlotzsky's Schlotzsky's is an American franchise chain of restaurants, specializing in sandwiches and pizza. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Schlotzsky's has more than 330 franchised and company-owned locations throughout the United Sta ...

restaurant chain, and his development partners began to earn development permits and acquire land in southwest

. However, several local environmentalist groups including the

Save Our Springs Alliance Save Our Springs Alliance (SOS), originally called the Save Our Springs Legal Defense Fund, was a nonprofit corporation created to protect the citizen-drafted SOS Ordinance of 1992 to conserve Barton Springs in Austin, Texas. The ordinance was wri ...

(SOS) were strongly opposed to the development due to the subdivision's planned location over the recharge zone of the

. Despite the strong opposition, the first homes in Circle C were built in 1986. In 1988, the

Save Barton Creek Association Save, SAVE, or Saved may refer to: Places *Save (Garonne), a river in southern France *Save River (Africa), a river in Zimbabwe and Mozambique *Sava, a river in Eastern Europe also known as Save * Savè, Benin, a commune and city * Save, Govur ...

filed a lawsuit against the

Texas Highway Department The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT ) is a government agency in the American state of Texas. Though the public face of the agency is generally associated with the construction and maintenance of the state's immense state highway sys ...

in order to stop the extension of

Texas State Highway Loop 1 Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...

into southwest Austin and to halt further development of Circle C Ranch. However, the subdivision's homeowner association was able to defend its rights to the land, and thus development continued. By 1990, Circle C Ranch was considered the top selling subdivision in Central Texas. However, in the same year, the

Gibraltar Savings and Loan Gibraltar Savings and Loan Association was an American bank operating in California, Washington, and Florida. It was organized as a savings and loan and failed in 1989. Overview Its headquarters building at 9111 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hi ...

bank based in California failed to pay off its debts, and all of its assets were transferred; at the time, this was one of the largest insolvencies in American history. Since the savings and loan company was the source for much of the money and resources involved in the development of Circle C Ranch, the subdivision went bankrupt and entered Chapter 11 reorganization status; reorganization was completed in 1992. Over the following years, several ordinances and lawsuits were filed in relation to Circle C Ranch and its environmental implications, resulting in the creation of the Southwest Travis County Water and Reclamation District in 1996 and the Slaughter Creek Water Protection Zone the following year. However, both the water district and protection zone were found unconstitutional because they were located within the City of Austin's

extraterritorial jurisdiction Extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) is the legal ability of a government to exercise authority beyond its normal boundaries. Any authority can claim ETJ over any external territory they wish. However, for the claim to be effective in the externa ...

and conflicted with the City's powers. On December 18, 1997, Circle C Ranch was involuntarily annexed by the City of Austin after roughly 15 years of development.

Schools

All of Circle C Ranch is served by the

Austin Independent School District Austin Independent School District (AISD) is a school district based in the city of Austin, Texas, United States. Established in 1881, the district serves most of the City of Austin and surrounding towns, the City of Sunset Valley, the Village ...

. Portions of the Avaña section in Hays County are located in the

Hays Consolidated Independent School District Hays Consolidated Independent School District is a public school district based in Kyle, Texas ( USA). In addition to Kyle, the district serves the city of Buda, and other areas in northern Hays County. The Hays Consolidated Independent School ...

, but students there are allowed to attend AISD schools.

In popular culture

The

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

series '' Welcome to the Neighborhood'' was set in Circle C Ranch, in which five families competed to win a house in the neighborhood.

References

Sources

FM Properties Inc. comments on Texas state legislature actions

Gary Bradley Will Not Get Away With Taking $73 Million from the Taxpayers to Build Circle C

Houston's Long Shadow - Austin-Bashing: It's Not Over Yet

Chasing Gary - To Annex or Not to Annex

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060928082133/http://www.hro.house.state.tx.us/interim/interim3.pdf Hearing Reviews Limits on City Annexation and Development Powers - Texas House of Representatives
Annexed citizens vs. City of Austin

Boomtime in Austin, Texas: Negotiated Growth Management

A Revolt Brews Among the Circle C Masses

* ttp://www.secinfo.com/drZxb.6a.c.htm Reimbursement Claim Agreement between Circle C Land Corp. and City of Austin
The Battle for the Springs: A Chronology

Dotting i's, Circling C's - Simplifying the Tortured History of Circle C

* ttp://www.secinfo.com/drZxb.7c.htm Legal Proceedings - FM Properties Inc. Form 10-Q
Save Our Springs Alliance and Circle C Neighborhood Assn v. City of Austin, Circle C Land Corp, and Stratus Properties

Back In Black - SOS Is Arisen: Let the Confetti Rain Down

History

Schools

In popular culture

References

Sources

External links