Custom Homes and Whole-Home Remodeling in West Lake Hills, Texas

Not for an ordinary, code-compliant home in an R-1 zoning district. West Lake Hills requires Zoning and Planning Commission review, known locally as ZAPCO, in every zoning district except that one, so an R-1 project moves through staff plan review with the Building and Development Services Department instead of a separate architectural hearing. Variances, zoning changes, special uses, and subdivisions still go through ZAPCO's public-hearing process. Drainage plans accompany your building application and are reviewed by the City Engineer. We confirm which path applies to your parcel before design begins.

Twenty-five percent, on a typical R-1, R-2, or R-3 lot of at least half an acre. West Lake Hills caps impervious cover, your roof, driveway, patio, and pool decking combined, at that ceiling. A smaller R-1 or R-2 lot between 0.2 and 0.5 acre can reach a higher share, and any allowance above 25 percent requires connecting to City wastewater. We run this math against your lot before we draw a floor plan.

Yes, but within strict limits. In practice any tree of 10 inches or more in trunk diameter needs City Council approval. Removing a tree of 14 inches or more in trunk diameter, measured 54 inches above grade, takes a City Council variance unless a stated exception applies. Trees from 10 inches to under 14 inches need one too, aside from a narrow fire-safety-buffer exception, so in practice any tree of 10 inches or more has to be cleared before it can come out. An undeveloped lot needs a whole-property survey recording every tree 3 inches or larger, measured 12 inches above grade. We build that survey into the schedule before the site plan is drawn.

At least 50 feet back from Bee Cave Road, and at least 75 feet back from Capital of Texas Highway, also known as Loop 360. That setback applies to a principal building regardless of orientation or zoning district. Property within 1,000 feet of either road's right-of-way also falls inside the Hill Country Corridor, which carries its own scenic-road protections on top of standard zoning. We check both distances against your parcel before a site plan gets drawn.

Very likely not a well. Travis County Water Control and Improvement District No. 10 is the area's principal water provider, buying treated water wholesale from Austin Water, and private wells are rare here. Wastewater depends on the parcel. Hilly homes on central service commonly need a grinder pump, while properties without central access, mostly north of Bee Cave Road, run on City-permitted septic, pumped every 3 years inside the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone or every 7 years outside it.

Yes, in most cases. West Lake Hills routes a major exterior remodel through the same staff plan review as a new home, with drainage plans reviewed by the City Engineer. If your property sits in a mapped special-flood-hazard area, the review gets stricter: work costing 50 percent or more of the structure's pre-improvement market value counts as a substantial improvement, which means the finished floor has to sit above the mapped flood elevation with an engineer certifying it, exactly as it would on a new house. We check the flood map and the improvement math on your property before we scope the work.

New construction runs $325 to $800+ per square foot at comparable finish levels, with structural steel and architectural complexity at the top of the range. A whole-home remodel runs $325 to $650+ per square foot of remodeled area. In West Lake Hills, the impervious cover engineering, the tree survey and protection plan, retaining walls tied to your slope, and the City Engineer's drainage review are not included in those ranges, and each varies by lot. We price all four after walking your property.