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Dripping Springs remains under a building moratorium amid booming growth

The City of Dripping Springs created a building moratorium in 2021 and has extended it several times. It's currently set to expire in September.

DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas — Just 23 miles west of Downtown Austin, the beauty of nature shines in Dripping Springs.

For the adults, there are more than a dozen distilleries and wineries, plus fantastic local eateries. For the kids, there's an outdoor amusement and pickleball paradise. The city is also the "Wedding Capital of Texas."

It seems like everyone wants to live in Dripping Springs. Stephanie Pope, a Dripping Springs Realtor, has helped a lot of people do just that.

"The secret's out. You know, we live in the fastest growing county in the United States of America right now, and that's hard to swallow," Pope said.

Some say Dripping Springs is growing too fast, nearly doubling its population in the past five years. And the City is trying to get ahead of the booming growth.

"We don't know what's going on with our water and wastewater, and we've got to just take a breather and think about developments that could potentially be coming online," Pope said.

The City created a building moratorium in 2021 and has extended it several times. It's currently set to expire in September.

It's all about wastewater. The City has just about maxed out the land where it can put treated, safe wastewater. It has applied for a permit to expand, but that's currently being fought in court.

"There's a part of me that kind of wants to stop. Don't do any more right here because I live here too, and I don't want it to become Austin," Pope said.

You can still apply for a waiver from the City if you'd like to build or an exemption if you're using a septic system. Some neighborhoods have already been approved, so there is some construction going on. 

The City is also conserving water. It won't approve a new pool without approval from your water supply company.

And as far as existing properties, Pope said the market is improving. She said she's seeing a lot more properties come on the market.

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