How developers skirt city codes

Whenever a real estate developer bulldozes majestic oaks or paves over environmentally sensitive land on the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone, it’s usually because he has “vested rights.” He’s grandfathered from city codes, and he can do whatever he wants on a property. But sometimes trees are cut down not because of vested rights, but because …

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Losing ground near Camp Bullis

Carlos Guerra’s column today points out how “vested rights” could derail efforts to limit new housing around Camp Bullis. Our series of stories called Losing Ground examined how developers in Austin aggressively lobbied for a state law governing vested rights that favored the real estate industry. Since then, developers have used the law thousands of …

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