Muny deal heads to the council on Nov. 19, bundled with a Mueller lease change and a new tax zone

The city and the University of Texas at Austin have announced a proposed deal that would give the city ownership of Lions Municipal Golf Course, known as Muny. The City Council is set to take it up on Nov. 19. If it passes, a public course that has operated on land the city does not own for nearly a century would become city property.

The deal so far

The city announced the proposal on Oct. 14. The release says:

• Muny opened in 1924 on more than 140 acres of UT-owned land. The city has leased and run it since 1937.
• In 1950 it became the first public golf course in the South to integrate. It is on the National Register of Historic Places as a civil rights landmark.
• It is Austin's busiest public course, with more than 75,000 rounds a year.
• The transfer would be written into amendments to the 1989 Brackenridge Development Agreement, the city-UT agreement that governs UT's land on both sides of Lake Austin Boulevard.

The amendments would also cover an update to UT's lease at Mueller, an exchange of city rights-of-way, a proposed Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone and a jointly agreed regulating plan for development, according to the release. The regulating plan and the tax zone would be drafted after the November vote and go through boards, commissions and the council in spring 2027.

Mayor Kirk Watson called it "a great day for Austin" in the release. City Manager T.C. Broadnax said development in the Lady Bird Lake area "must be thoughtful." Council Member Marc Duchen told CBS Austin he hopes most of his colleagues "will see the wisdom" in the deal. UT said in a statement to CBS Austin that it will take the matter to its Board of Regents.

What our records add: the 51st Street lease

One piece of the package came up at the council's Audit and Finance Committee on Oct. 21, during a staff briefing on the city's real estate portfolio. A council member asked about undeveloped land along 51st Street leased to UT, noting that constituents often ask about it.

City real estate staff answered that 11 acres were leased to UT in 2006 for a planned medical school. The medical school has moved to North Austin, and the land is still undeveloped. Staff said the city will recommend amending the lease, as part of the Brackenridge agreement, to allow residential uses and child care, and that UT has asked for a longer term. Staff said that change will be in the package coming to the council on Nov. 19. The lease had triggers for UT to start construction that have not been met, staff said, and the city plans regular public reporting on the site, including to the Mueller plan advisory committee in November.

So the Nov. 19 vote is about more than a golf course. It would also set new terms for a separate tract near Mueller that has sat undeveloped since it was leased in 2006.

Earlier votes

Our records do not show a council vote on the Muny transfer itself before this proposal. The council's most recent tax increment zone votes, for the Dog's Head development in July, split the council 7-3 with one member absent. The proposed Brackenridge tax zone would come back separately in 2027, according to the city.

What's next

City staff are briefing the Environmental Commission and Planning Commission this month, according to the city's release. The amended Brackenridge agreement goes to the council on Nov. 19. The regulating plan and tax zone follow in spring 2027. UT's Board of Regents must also act. Our meetings page will list the Nov. 19 agenda once the city posts it.