Developer Blake Magee Company proposed expanding the Woodside Municipal Utility District to include an additional 162.5-acre tract at a May 26 City Council workshop. The request includes annexing the land into city limits to create a new age-restricted residential development.

What happened: The proposed project would integrate the tract of land, which is located at the northwest intersection of Ronald Reagan Boulevard and Hwy. 195, into the Woodside MUD, or create a separate MUD.

The plan includes 520 single-family units on the new land, as well as a request to transition an adjacent 140 units from traditional housing to active adult.

What they’re saying: Because the proposal exceeds the city’s MUD policy, which caps age-restricted housing at 10%, some council members expressed opposition. District 3 council member Ben Butler also opposed the 55-cent MUD tax rate.

What's next: Developers said they will take the feedback on commercial zoning and development terms back to their team for further review before moving forward.

Retirement Outfitters—a small, independent wealth advising firm—opened a location in Georgetown off Williams Drive this month.

About the business: Aly Huddleston provides tax efficient retirement planning out of the new Georgetown office. Founded by Barbara Traylor Smith, the company also has offices in Colorado.

• 4861 Williams Drive, Ste. 105D, Georgetown

Check out six upcoming or ongoing transportation project updates across the Austin metro.

Austin will commit $104M to support future I-35 decks: Austin will commit more than $100 million to support future public amenity decks covering portions of I-35, after a scaled-down alternate proposal was tabled this spring. The city would develop larger caps and smaller stitches to cover the interstate, connecting downtown and East Austin with public decks that could house parks, plazas and small buildings or venues. Building all caps and stitches is now estimated to cost about $400 million, added amenities across all decks could cost nearly $260 million, and maintaining the structures will cost about $9 million annually once they're in place. 

Construction on Austin Avenue bridges in Georgetown to resume: The southbound Austin Avenue bridge decks will be demolished beginning this month in preparation for new bridge construction. Demolition will take approximately two months, and both bridges are anticipated to be completed and open to traffic next April. 

Dr. Akshay Yadhati, a surgeon with Austin Regional Clinic, performed two different high-tech spine surgeries this year that were both Austin-area firsts, according to a spokesperson for the medical group. Yadhati spoke to Community Impact about the procedures and what they mean for spine care in Central Texas.

The overview: Yadhati performed a robotic navigated spinal interbody fusion on an adult patient and an endoscopic spine surgery. Both techniques are significant steps forward in spinal care, he said, because they improve the safety and accuracy of the surgeries and minimize invasiveness and recovery time.

Why it matters: “If I were dealing with [these problems], these are the techniques I would want done on my back,” Yadhati said. “That’s the main theme that I try to anchor a lot of my decisions in. If I’m the patient, or my mom, dad, brother or wife is the patient, how do I want them to be going through a surgery?”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed June 3 that a case of the New World screwworm, a parasitic fly, was detected on a cattle ranch in South Texas.

The overview: The case marks the first domestic detection of screwworm in a decade and the first Texas case in approximately 50 years. The flesh-eating parasite is a threat to the state’s $15.5 billion cattle industry.

Zooming in: No additional infestations have been identified, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins told reporters. Federal and state officials have emphasized that they do not anticipate issues with the food supply chain, as the screwworm only targets live animals and does not infest meat, fruit or vegetables.

However, experts have warned that a larger, prolonged screwworm outbreak could cause a spike in beef prices.

A widespread infestation is estimated to cost Texas at least $1.8 billion per year in damages, according to a USDA analysis of a 1976 screwworm outbreak. Texas cattle, sheep and goat producers would face about $732 million in annual losses.