Former Bee Cave city manager responds to city's lawsuit over controversial warehouse

BEE CAVE, Texas - The City of Bee Cave’s former city manager is responding for the first time after being sued by the city. City officials claimed Clint Garza was heavily connected to the construction of a controversial warehouse.

"It's our belief that this is really an effort by the mayor, and the mayor's handlers, if you will, to find someone else to blame for the city's predicament," Clint Garza’s attorney, Randy Howry said.

Bee Cave's former city manager sued

The backstory:

In 2015, the City of Bee Cave entered into an agreement with a development company to turn some land at Highway 71 and Serene Hills Drive, into a blend of residential homes, commercial spaces, and recreational amenities.

 In 2018, Garza was hired as the city manager.

 "Garza was not involved at all in what that plan would be and in terms of interpreting that, it wouldn't his responsibility to interpret what the development allowed or didn't allow. It's Mr. Garza's perspective that this whole project does fit within the terms of the development agreement," Howry said.

The attorney for the City of Bee Cave said it does not fit within the development agreement. What sits on the land now is an industrial warehouse, something the city claims was never approved.

 The City of Bee Cave is suing Garza, claiming he helped conceal these new plans from city council and was benefiting from it.

"According to our lawsuit, former city manager Clint Garza received cash payments, lavish gifts over a period of many years, and that many of those gifts came from companies that were doing business with the City of Bee Cave," City of Bee Cave Communications Director Crystal Cotti told FOX 7 in February 2025.

Last year, Garza resigned from his position at the city to work for another land developer. The city points out it was during the same month construction started on the industrial warehouses. Garza's attorney says that there were various reasons for his resignation and it has nothing to do with the development agreement or project.

What they're saying:

 "They don't like this development agreement, and they are now pointing the finger at Clint Garza, and we think unfairly," Howry said. "The allegations of mismanagement, bribery, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, they're false claims, they're terrible claims, and they should be dropped."

 Garza’s attorneys say they will fight to have their client dismissed from this case, and they may be working on another lawsuit.

"Ultimately, the mayor and others who keep making these poor comments about Mr. Garza will ultimately pay the price for that. We'll make sure of that," Howry said.

Casey Low, an attorney representing the city of Bee Cave, sent a statement about the suit to FOX 7:

 According to the city’s lawsuit, former City Manager Clint Garza met with landowners in 2019 and was told they wanted to avoid going through the Bee Cave City Council for development approval.

The industrial warehouses never appeared on a city council agenda while Garza was City Manager, and according to sworn testimony by Mr. Garza, the City never approved the project.

The City’s concerns about the developers’ conduct, including their interactions with Mr. Garza, are well-documented and rooted in evidence and sworn testimony. This isn’t about finding a fall guy. It’s about accountability.

Former City Manager Clint Garza had a professional and moral obligation to notify the city council about this development. Documents and sworn testimony show he was helping developers avoid oversight, including immediately before leaving the City to accept a job with a land developer in February of 2024, the same month construction started on the industrial warehouses.

This lawsuit has the unanimous support of the Bee Cave City Council, a reflection of the city’s desire to protect Bee Cave from the harm this industrial development is already causing. The lawsuit is uncovering a deliberate effort to conceal the true nature of a large-scale industrial warehouse that the Defendants knew violated the City’s binding Development Agreement.

What's next:

Multiple development companies have filed to be dismissed from the lawsuit. They are set to be heard in court on May 27, 2025.

The lawsuit is scheduled for a jury trial in August 2025.