Woodcreek residents show City Manager support

Woodcreek residents came out strongly in favor of City Manager Brenton Lewis at last week’s council meeting and an agenda item intent on discussing his potential termination was pulled from discussion.

The Wimberley View counted 18 speakers, through either verbal or written communication, speaking in favor of their dealings with Lewis.

“I worked with three different city managers and Brenton is by far the best city manager we have had,” former Councilmember Kathy Maldonado said. “…I believe him to be an excellent city manager.”

From multiple former council members to involved citizens who attend most council meetings, every speaker showed support for the city manager. There were no comments made in favor of his firing.

After an hour-long executive session, which is a discussion by council members behind closed doors allowed by the Texas Open Meetings Act for discussions involving items like personnel decisions, council took no action regarding the potential firing.

Councilmember Cyndi Jackson, who request the agenda item about firing Lewis, then pulled the item from the agenda without any further discussion.

The council also decided to continue working on a potential ordinance for Short Term Rentals, but the ordinance was not approved during the meeting. Short Term Rentals have become increasingly popular with the exposure and ease offered by online rental companies like Air BNB and HomeAway. Woodcreek allows STRs in one zone, but not throughout much of the city. There is also one Special Use Agreement for a specific property to operate a Short Term Rental within the city that was approved by city council in 2013.

Some council members have stated concerns that the current rules are not in compliance with state law by restricting a homeowner’s right to rent their property or that the current ordinances do not allow for fair treatment of all property owners. Other members stated that they are in favor of limiting Short Term Rentals by enforcing the current ordinances.

Beyond which zones Short Term Rentals are allowed in, the proposed ordinance would also expand regulations on STRs “to mitigate any possible impact of such uses on the surrounding neighborhood, while allowing property owners to reasonably use their property,” according to the ordinance. If approved, the new rules would limit noise, occupancy and time of outdoor activities among other regulations.

No vote was taken by the council on the proposed Short Term Rental changes.