Circle C Ranch

Circle C Ranch (also known as Circle C) is a large master-planned community in southwest Austin, Texas, USA. Circle C was featured prominently in a long and contentious environmental legal battle regarding Barton Springs and the Edwards Aquifer. The tortuous controversy surrounding its annexation by Austin was a landmark in municipal annexation rights in Texas.

Development of Circle C started in 1983 and the first homes were built in 1987. Today, Circle C Ranch includes more than 4,000 homes. Amenities include a 18-hole golf course (The Grey Rock Golf Club) and tennis club, a swim center, a fire station, and over 500 acres (2.0 km²) of dedicated parkland. The Circle C Swim Center has a year-round, outdoor, Olympic-size heated pool, the only one of its kind in Texas. A second swimming pool complex, complete with new HOA office space and meeting rooms, is currently under construction and is due to be completed December, 2011. The new, recreational pool will be open on a seasonal basis from late May through early September.

Circle C Ranch was developed by Gary Bradley, who was part-owner of the Schlotzsky's restaurant chain. The development went into bankruptcy during the savings & loan scandal in the late 1980s, and was made solvent by the U.S. government.

The Circle C area was unincorporated and outside the legal jurisdiction of Austin until December 1997 when it was involuntarily annexed by the City of Austin, in spite of a 1995 state law (HB 3193) which specifically prohibited Austin from annexing the area or imposing city regulations there. Developers and homeowners vehemently protested the annexation. At the urging of Circle C residents, the Texas Legislature passed a fast-track bill, which was based on another 1995 state law (SB 1017), to delay the Circle C annexation for 20 years and place the area under the protection of a special governor-appointed board. This bill was signed into law by Governor George W. Bush, but was ruled unconstitutional in subsequent lawsuits when HB 3193 itself was ruled unconstitutional by the Texas Supreme Court.

Following annexation, further litigation ensued involving the Save Our Springs Alliance. Development resumed after Texas courts upheld the terms of the final annexation agreement.

The Circle C area is home to the new shopping center, Escarpment Village with a 93,000-square-foot (8,600 m²) H-E-B grocery store.

Schools within the Circle C area are Bowie High School, Kiker Elementary School, Clayton Elementary School, and Gorzycki Middle School. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the Veloway are also located in the Circle C area.

The median household income in the Circle C area is $117,584, and 70% of its residents have a college degree.

Sources

• FM Properties Inc. comments on Texas state legislature actions
• Bradley adds 976 acres (3.95 km²) to Circle C
• 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
• Ordinance annexing for full purposes the CIRCLE C ANNEXATION AREA - Austin City Council 12/11/97 Meeting item
• Hearing Reviews Limits on City Annexation and Development Powers - Texas House of Representatives
• Annexed citizens vs. City of Austin
• "Local Control"- Texas Style
• Boomtime in Austin, Texas: Negotiated Growth Management
• Bradley, city compromising
• City to pay about $10M in Circle C dispute
• A Revolt Brews Among the Circle C Masses
• Circle C Homeowners Association and City of Austin Settlement Agreement
• 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
• Austin developer Gary Lee Bradley - A Comprehensive Annotation
• 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
• Circle C golf club reinvents itself

External links

• Circle C Weather Website
• Circle C Ranch Homeowners Association Website
• Circle C Ranch Neighborhood Website
• Bowie High School Website
• Gorzycki Middle School Website
• Kiker Elementary School Website
• Clayton Elementary School Website
• Grey Rock Golf Club Website
• Circle C Swim Team Website
• Circle C Weather Website

Coordinates: 30°11′49″N 97°54′14″W / 30.197°N 97.904°W / 30.197; -97.904