AUSTIN (KXAN) — Neighbors in an Austin suburb are frustrated by a 16-foot fence around a nearly 7,000 square-foot property, widely reported to be owned by tech billionaire, Elon Musk.

It is located off Stratford Reserve Place, which is on the edge of West Lake Hills’ city limits. The debate over the fence made its way to West Lake Hills’ Zoning & Planning Commission meeting on April 16.

Tisha Ritta with Central Texas Permit Partners, LLC, served as the applicant representing the home owner. She listed six variance requests for the property, including the existence of a 16.5-foot-tall fence that goes against the city’s code limit of a six-foot maximum fence. 

‘No permit was obtained’

During the meeting, Ritta claimed the variances are needed for privacy and security concerns. She acknowledged that the fence was installed without a permit back in 2022 when the home was originally purchased.

“No permit was obtained prior to installation,” Ritta said. “This was an oversight by the property manager at the time.”

Ritta said once the violations were received last year, they’ve been actively working with the city to resolve this.

“The owner did go through great extent, you know, spent a lot of money to implement vegetation, the trees and everything around the fence,” Ritta said. “It coordinates with the neighborhood.”

City staff recommended the commission approve the variances with conditions like:

• Changing the chain link fence to “decorative fence material”
• Allowing the front yard’s fence to encroach up to the property line

Concerns from people nearby

Neighbors at the meeting said they opposed “any and all variances request to be granted.” Three additional properties on the cul de sac wrote a letter to the commission against the request.

Paul Hemmer, a neighbor, said variances would “do nothing but just facilitate their bad behavior on our quiet little cul de sac, which at times appears to be a parking lot with many cars parked every which way.”

Hemmer alleged the property appeared to be used as a security office, as opposed to a residence.

“Shift change happens three times a day, with cars coming and going, along with most of these employees ordering food deliveries all hours of the night and day,” Hemmer alleged during the commission meeting.

One commissioner, who was not identified in a recording of the meeting, said she could not believe city staff was putting forth any recommendation for exceptions.

“I’m astounded that the staff is putting forth any kind of suggestion that we bend based on who is asking, because Westlake is full of important people,” the commissioner said. “We are not here to judge personal needs of the occupants. We’re here to judge physical needs of the land.”

Ultimately, commissioners voted against the city staff’s recommendations. The commissioners forwarded this to city council with a recommendation for denial of all variance requests for “lack of appropriate hardships.”

City council will discuss this at a meeting on June 11.