The Bee Cave Bee

This whole episode is a complete waste of Bee Cave taxpayer time and money. Why? Because nothing Planet K sells is AGAINST THE LAW. Got it? You may not like what they sell (as you may not like R-rated movies at the theater or certain cuss words) but because these items are not illegal to sell, he should be allowed to sell them. And any prohibition against that right will be lost in any court - only after thousands of dollars has been spent on attorneys.

In other words, Bee Cave tax dollars (your taxes) will be spent on attorneys trying to convince a judge or jury that a man cannot sell what is legal to sell - only because a certain number of people do not like what he is selling.

No one should be surprised the City has chosen to get into yet another legal battle. in fact, tonights City Council Agenda included at least five separate legal actions most of which are purely discretionary. The City may pay more per capita in legal fees then any municipality in the US. It's a shame especially when areas that benefit residents like the Library continue to be understaffed and underfunded.

The city needs to review it's ordinances and zoning in an open transparent way, and not try to rewrite it's rules after a legitimate business has purchased a property.

Bee Cave Residents wake up and get involved. Look more closely at how your City is being managed. Stop worrying about Planet K corrupting our youth...they've been exposed to anything in a Planet K store before they are old enough to drive.

We live by the rule of law, there are plenty most of us don't like. But guess what? We need to rationally prioritize our use of public funds, and this issue has never been one of those fights to engage in, it appears self centered by the righteous conservatives in our community. Give it up, move on and do something useful for the majority of people or keep in mind there will be another election in the near future.

If you folks would just look at the zoning for this type of store you would KNOW that it's NOT that Bee Cave doesn't want them here it's just Planet K didn't do their "homework" to realize that Bee Cave has certain zoning areas for different types of businesses and they bought in the wrong zone. Don't you think that if you invested your $$ in a business you would talk to the city about where you're allowed to "set up shop"?? The law is the law and they need to abide by it just like the rest of us business owners!!!! Just the way it is.

Unfortunately you've missed the entire point. I believe no one is under the impression that products sold by Planet K are illegal. The concern is that these products may create additional problems for law enforcement; individuals boating and driving under the influence of illegal drugs not sold by Planet K but who purchased paraphernalia from Planet K to partake those illegal drugs. Community concern there may be an increase presence of individuals into the community who take drugs. In addition the sale of adult erotica in a quiet family oriented community is not desired. The question lies with City of Bee Cave ordinances. Does the city have ordinances against adult content being sold within the city limits of Bee Cave? Although Bee Cave was established some years ago only recently it began to explode and become a metropolitan area. Living and working in the area I know for a fact that the majority of residents do not want Planet K. In addition the majority of residents do not want an attention magnet mural that would grossly clash with the surrounding and neighboring businesses and possibly detour other business from being attracted to the Bee Cave area, thus effecting income and tax revenue. That said I also believe that Planet K's target market are not the residents of Bee Cave and Lake Travis but lake traffic. I believe that is the point of the strategic location on a prevalent corner just down Hwy 71 from public boat ramps. It is unfortunate that the City has to spend a great deal of Taxpayer money, Planet K is a full party beginning building reuse plans without obtaining proper permits, which is illegal. The City is acting upon the behalf of the majority of residents, which I believe is what City Council was elected to do.

Thank you Andy C.
Well stated. At the end of the day it is all about maintaining what the majority has established as being a happy, healthy and peaceful enjoyment of our community, for all of us,our children and their children, now and for forever. Our local government has been entrusted with the task of ensuring that these values and principles will remain in effect on our behalf. We just need to keep voting for the individuals that will represent our interests and desires.

A very smart point made by Andi C. ALSO, if people around here don't like our laws then move. There's people tripping over themselves to move here!!!!!! If we don't keep our upscale community upscale then we're eventually going to look like south Austin.

No Andi, I did not "miss the point", you did. By your own words, you agree that they sell nothing against the law. Only that what they do sell increases drug use - is that correct? If so, show me the facts. Your argument on this point would loose in any court as it is an assumption not backed up by facts. A better and more accurate statement would be that if someone wants to take illegal drugs, they will do so with or without a Planet K.

Additionally, your statement, "the sale of adult erotica in a quiet family oriented community is not desired." is quaint and colorful but more reminiscent of the Leave it Beaver era of the 1950's. I would suggest you obtain an Internet connection and enter the search term "erotica" into Google and see what you get. Shall we also ban the Internet, R-rate movies and HBO?

And lastly, I challenge you to show me the scientific poll that was conducted for your statement,"..I know for a fact that the majority of residents do not want Planet K." Of course you do not have one and therefore this is not a "fact". More than likely, the people that you associate with agree with you, but unless you know and have discussed the issue with all 15,000 of the Bee Cave and Lakeway citizens, this is not a fact.

In conclusion Andi (and Big Papi and ke), I would ask that you look at this issue in the light of freedom and true conservatism. Every man (and woman) has a right to purchase property and create a business of their choice. And yes, they must abide by local zoning laws - as long as they are fair and not discriminatory. And that business has the right to sell items that others may not like. There are many stores in our area that sell items that others may not consider "appropriate" such as sexually suggestive items sold at Victoria's Secret, K-Y Jelly sold at H.E.B., and tweezers sold at Walgreens and spoons sold at Dillards that can be used as drug aids and paraphernalia. So please wake up from your dream of a 1950's utopia.. (which, never actually existed in the first place.)

Danny- if you are going to question 'facts' then you need to do so using correct facts. Bee Cave doesn't have that many citizens. Lakeway residents aren't citizens of Bee Cave so your count is way off. It's very easy in our small city to know a majority are against this store. They certainly made their choice clear at the meeting at City Hall! Bee Cave residents don't seek to dictate what stores are in Lakeway-but they can have this store if that's what they desire.

Mary - Bee Cave has an estimated 1000 to 1200 population and Lakeway as an estimated 13,000 - 14,000 for a total of about 15,000 -which is the number I used in my post. These are facts. The population signs have not been updated to reflect the 2010 census. And as to a "small" town, may I remind you that the population that now lives in the apartments at the Galleria is probably equal to what the entire population of Bee Cave was 10 or 20 years ago? Bee Cave is no longer the town of yesterday.

However, I do have sympathy for both you and probably Andi as well. More than likely, you have lived here for many years and recall a Bee Cave of many years ago. Few businesses (other than the "Backyard" and trading post), some farms, ranches and churches. You probably did know most of the citizens at that time. But alas, like so many small towns that surround large cities, Bee Cave (and to a lesser extent) Lakeway are now but suburbs and bedroom communities of the city of Austin. Examples of big cities gobbling up smaller cities are common; Garland, Irving, Frisco, etc. in the DFW area and Cypress, Pearland, etc. in the Houston area. I am sure all of these cities had people like yourself that yearned for a time of yesteryear when the small town you loved was quaint and isolated from big city issues like drugs, crime and homosexuals.

So in conclusion, though you and Andi may not agree with my opinion, my facts are correct.

We are talking about the population of Bee Cave. I am fully aware of the estimated numbers for our city. You included the population number for Lakeway to come up with an inflated total to bolster your claim that Andi couldn't know that a majority of BEE CAVE residents agreed with him. The population numbers for Lakeway in this case are irrelevant and you should not have included them.
Shame on you for your last post that assumed an awful lot of facts not in evidence regarding me!!! In fact you couldn't be more WRONG.

Mary - My apologies if I offended you - that was not my intent. My intent was to point out that Bee Cave has grown a great deal in the past few years, and as a result, has changed as well. Additionally, I was trying to point out that since a vote or a scientific poll was not taken, we truly do not know what the majority of citizens really do think of the possible Planet K.

I understand that many people have strong opinions about this matter and equate Planet K to "sex, drugs and rock & roll." However, my post was meant to raise this issue to a higher level - that of a persons right to sell items that are not against the law, but may be offensive to some people. I also tried to point out that many items sold in existing stores can be used for sex and drugs - and they are not closed down.

Regardless, it was not my intent to upset you, only try and introduce some ideas you and others may not have considered. I hope on some level I may have succeeded.

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