The deal that would keep all 18 holes at Lions Municipal Golf Course is mostly about the land around it. On Oct. 14, Mayor Kirk Watson said gifts from anonymous donors make it possible for the city to take ownership of Muny and for the West Austin Youth Association campus to go to WAYA. In return, the city would rewrite the agreement that controls how the University of Texas can build on its land along Lake Austin Boulevard, Community Impact reported. That land holds the Lake Austin H-E-B, Mozart's, Hula Hut and the LCRA headquarters.
For anyone who lives off Enfield Road or Exposition, the change that lasts is the new set of rules for the land along the boulevard.
What the Nov. 19 vote would settle
Muny covers 141 acres at 2901 Enfield Road. The course opened in 1924, and the city has leased it from UT since the late 1930s. According to the city, the course hosts more than 75,000 rounds a year, and Austin pays UT just under $500,000 a year in rent. KUT reported that the lease is now month to month. For a public course with roughly 75,000 rounds a year, that is a thin footing. The deal would replace it with city ownership.
Community Impact puts the appraised value of the 155 acres that hold Muny and WAYA's campus at more than $680 million. The donors and the size of their gifts have not been made public. Watson told reporters the plan keeps the green space "really at no cost to the taxpayer," according to Community Impact.
Here's the approval schedule as announced:
- Oct. 21: Environmental Commission. City staff gave a briefing, and staff said the item was not up for a vote.
- Oct. 27: Planning Commission review.
- Nov. 18–19: The UT System Board of Regents' next regular meeting, in Austin. City staff said they expect the regents to take up the deal in November.
- Nov. 19: Austin City Council vote on the changes to the Brackenridge agreement.
- Spring 2027: A regulating plan and a financing plan for the surrounding land go to council after more public review, according to the city's announcement.
The deal is final only after both the council and the regents approve it.
The trade happens along Lake Austin Boulevard
The 1989 Brackenridge Development Agreement covers about 190 acres of UT land next to Muny. KUT reported that the proposed changes could rewrite its long-standing rules on building height, environmental protection and development standards.
Most Tarrytown errands happen on this land. Axios Austin lists the Lake Austin H-E-B, a CVS, a 7-Eleven, apartments, the LCRA headquarters, graduate student housing, and the Oyster Landing businesses, including Mozart's and Hula Hut.
No redevelopment has been announced for any of those businesses. According to Community Impact, UT has not settled on any development plans. The university's Brackenridge Apartments on Lake Austin would stay for now and could be rebuilt somewhere else once redevelopment starts. The council would approve a set of limits in November. Actual buildings would come later.
Reading the height rule from the boulevard
The early coverage summed up the height limit as 65 feet. At the Oct. 21 briefing, city staff gave a more detailed version. North of Lake Austin Boulevard, and on land right along it, buildings would top out at 65 feet. Farther down the slope toward the river, buildings could reach 105 feet. Staff also said no building could stand more than 65 feet above the boulevard, measured from the street. So the extra 40 feet only applies where the ground drops away below street level.
| Proposed rule | Figure | Where it was described |
|---|---|---|
| Height north of and along Lake Austin Blvd. | 65 feet | City staff briefing, Oct. 21 |
| Height farther down the slope | Up to 105 feet | City staff briefing, Oct. 21 |
| Height above the boulevard, anywhere on the tract | Never more than 65 feet | City staff briefing, Oct. 21 |
| Floor area ratio for developed areas | 5 to 1 unless council approves more | City staff briefing, Oct. 21 |
| Setback from Lady Bird Lake | At least 200 feet | Austin Current |
| Impervious cover across the tract | Up to 75% | Austin Current |
From the sidewalk outside the H-E-B, you would never see a building taller than 65 feet. From a kayak on Lady Bird Lake, you could.
What neighbors and researchers asked for on Oct. 21
Eight people signed up to speak on the item at the Environmental Commission. Most of them focused on the land, not the golf course.
Elizabeth Bowman, a research scientist at UT's Brackenridge Field Laboratory, told the commission the 82-acre lab supports about 700 plant species and 160 bird species. She asked that the lab, its buffers and its environmental protections be written into the agreement. Austin Current reported that fellow lab researcher Edward LeBrun warned the land changes could not be undone and should not be rushed.
Holly Reed sits on the boards of both the West Austin Neighborhood Group and the Muny Conservancy. She told the commission that neighbors need more information about traffic and environmental impacts. She went further in an interview with KUT:
"There are a lot of people that are like, 'Save Muny at all costs. We don't care if you put Manhattan on the river tract.' I'm not that. I want a thoughtful plan."
Ken Tiemann, who chairs the Save Historic Muny District, has backed the proposal fully. His statement urges both the council and the regents to approve it, and Community Impact reported that he called it "the outcome generations of Muny supporters have worked toward." Austin Current reported that he has "complete confidence" UT will do something "fabulous" with the rest of the land.
Ben Crenshaw co-chairs the Muny Conservancy with Scotty Sayers. In a statement quoted by Community Impact, he said the preservation effort still needs public support. "This is not the time to let up," he said.
Every one of these groups wants Muny kept. Their differences are about how much should be locked into the agreement now and how much can wait.
Spring is when the street gets drawn
The Nov. 19 vote would change the agreement itself. Community Impact reports that a regulating plan for future housing and retail, along with tax increment financing for new infrastructure, will be drafted over several months. Both would go to council in the spring after more public review.
Those spring documents are the ones that decide how the boulevard would look and work. The November rules set height limits and the lake setback. The regulating plan is where building placement, retail space and infrastructure get worked out. The concerns raised at the Oct. 21 meeting about traffic, the field lab and the riverbank will matter most in that second round.
This is also Muny's best chance in a long time. A 2009 proposal would have turned the entire Brackenridge tract, including the course, into a dense mixed-use development. A rezoning effort the city started in 2021 stalled without a result. The Save Historic Muny District, created by state law in 2019 with Watson as the sponsoring senator, has been extended several times without reaching a resolution.
The course's history is part of why it gets this much protection. Muny is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a civil rights landmark. In 1950 it became the first golf course in the South to integrate. KUT tells the story: two Black teenagers walked onto the course in daylight and started hitting balls, and Mayor Taylor Glass told the city, "Let them play." Volma Overton Jr. has spent decades working to save the course. He told KUT, "I think everything is finally moving in the right direction."
Until then, the tee sheet and the lights
Playing the course works the same as before. On the city's Lions Municipal page, weekday tee times open online at 9 a.m. seven days in advance. Weekend tee times open online at 8 p.m. the Monday before. Book through the city's course page. With a council vote coming, expect weekend slots to go quickly.
The next big event on the tract is set for Nov. 21, two days after the council vote. Mozart's 16th annual Festival of Lights runs Nov. 21, 2026, through Jan. 3, 2027, at 3825 Lake Austin Blvd., with synchronized light displays and live holiday entertainment, according to Mozart's event page. The coffee shop is part of the land the new rules would cover, and it opens its holiday season about two days after the council vote.
If you're wondering how the Brackenridge changes could affect a home near Enfield Road or Lake Austin Boulevard, I'm happy to go through the agreement and the spring timeline with you so you know what's settled and what's still open. Amy Sparks can help. Book a personalized consultation, and we'll talk through what this means for your block.
