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Service area

Land clearing in Austin

For acreage owners, builders and ranch managers on both sides of the Balcones Escarpment, from the cedar hills off Loop 360 and RM 620 to the prairie ground out toward Manor and Del Valle.

Cleared limestone slope with a stand of cedar left at the edge

Austin is a city split down the middle by geology. The Balcones Escarpment runs north to south through town, close enough to I-35 that locals use the highway as shorthand for the line. West of it you’re on the Edwards Plateau: limestone hills, soil that barely covers the rock and Ashe juniper crowding the live oaks. East of it, the Blackland Prairie flattens into deep black clay that swells after rain and cracks open in drought.

Barton Springs pushes water out of the Edwards Aquifer at Zilker Park, nearly on the seam. So land clearing in Austin starts with one question: which side of the line is your property on? Tracts near Loop 360 and the Barton Creek Greenbelt can even carry both kinds of ground on one property.

Whichever side yours is on, Jordan LaVine walks it before a number goes on paper.

Communities we work in Austin

  • Westlake Hills
  • Barton Creek
  • Bee Cave
  • Lakeway
  • Steiner Ranch
  • Dripping Springs
  • Driftwood
  • Manor
  • Hornsby Bend
  • Del Valle
  • Webberville
  • Pflugerville

What the work looks like, west and east

On the west side it’s build sites, driveway and pad prep through surface limestone, and cedar removal to free mature live oaks around Westlake, Barton Creek, Lost Creek and out past Bee Cave.

On the east side it’s pasture reclamation, mesquite grubbing, fence lines and site prep along the SH-130 corridor near Giga Texas and the Whisper Valley community by Manor. Growth lands on raw acreage first, and clearing is the first trade on the ground.

City trees, warblers and oak wilt

Inside city limits the tree ordinance (19 inches protected, 24 inches heritage for listed species) comes with a critical root zone that runs a foot of radius per inch of trunk, so where a machine parks matters as much as what it cuts. Bee Cave, Lakeway and unincorporated Travis County have their own rules, so we confirm jurisdiction parcel by parcel.

Mature Ashe juniper in juniper-oak woodland is the only nesting habitat the endangered golden-cheeked warbler uses, and it can’t be disturbed from March 1 through August 31. Oak wilt is endemic too, so we follow Texas A&M Forest Service guidance: no wounding oaks February through June, and every wound painted right away.

Common questions

Do I need a permit to clear land inside Austin city limits?

Often, yes. Any tree 19 inches or more in diameter, measured 4.5 feet up, is protected and needs a Tree Ordinance Review Application through the City Arborist Program. Live oak, pecan, Texas ash and bald cypress become heritage trees at 24 inches, and removing one takes a variance that’s rarely granted.

Why does it matter which side of the Balcones Escarpment my land is on?

It decides what the machine hits. West of the line, limestone sits inches to a couple of feet down under cedar. East of it, deep Blackland clay grows mesquite and huisache and turns soft after rain. Different ground, different equipment, different timing.

Can you clear land near the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve?

We work near it, carefully. The golden-cheeked warbler nests only in mature Ashe juniper in juniper-oak woodland, and those trees are often 50 to 100 years old. Disturbing that habitat takes a permit at any time of year and isn’t allowed March 1 through August 31, so we confirm status before anything moves.

Do you work Del Valle, Manor and the SH-130 corridor?

Yes, regularly. Out there it’s Blackland Prairie, so the work is mostly mesquite and huisache reclamation, fence lines and site prep rather than rock breaking, from Manor and Hornsby Bend to Del Valle, Webberville and Elgin.

What’s involved in a driveway through limestone off RM 2222 or Loop 360?

Rock work from the first few feet. We crush the surface limestone and caliche in place, and on many of these lots that crushed rock becomes the driveway base, so less spoil goes out and less gravel comes in.

When is the cleanest window to clear around Austin oaks?

Mulching works year round, but around oaks or possible warbler habitat, September through winter is cleanest: it misses the February to June oak wilt window and the March 1 to August 31 nesting season.

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