AUSTIN, Texas -- A group of business owners suing the City of Austin over the spelling of Manchaca Road appeared in court Tuesday.

Business owners suing city over spelling of Manchaca Road

Presented arguments in 200th district court

Claim they were not properly notified

Lawyers representing the City of Austin and the Manchaca Business Association presented their arguments before the honorable Judge Howell in the 200th district court. It is the latest development in a lawsuit that began back in 2018 after Austin City Council voted to change the spelling of the road from “Manchaca” to “Menchaca.”

READ MORE | City Council Moves to Change Manchaca Road to Menchaca

A group of business owners along Manchaca Road decided to sue the City of Austin, saying it failed to properly notify property owners on the road about the potential spelling change before the public hearing and council vote. They’re arguing that out of the 1,763 letters of notice the City of Austin sent out, since about 140 letters failed to be delivered, the city didn’t adequately notify property owners. The city is arguing that because 92 percent of the letters of noticed were delivered successfully, they did meet the requirement.

READ MORE | Businesses Suing City Over Manchaca Name Change

“They need to follow their own rules. They get to make their rules but they also need to follow the rules, and they didn’t follow the rules by making sure that the most effected people by this, who are the property owners along the road, get notice so they have an opportunity to say their piece to the city council before the council makes its final decision,” said Roger Borgelt, attorney for the Manchaca Business Association.

“The City presented the court with the detailed steps we took to mail notice of the name change to property owners along the miles-long stretch of Manchaca Road, which the City Council legislatively renamed Menchaca Road in the fall of 2018. We are appreciative of the court’s time and look forward to its decision,” said a City of Austin spokesperson.

The conflict about the spelling of the road began last fall, when a former judge and the family of Captain Jose Antonio Menchaca asked the council to vote to change the spelling of the road. They said it was originally named after Captain Menchaca, but that it was misspelled.

RELATED | Judge Temporarily Halts Renaming of Manchaca Road to Menchaca

Although the Manchaca Business Association disagrees with the road name’s origin, the lawsuit itself is about whether the city adequately complied with city code. The council's vote and the new spelling of Manchaca have not been implemented due to a temporary injunction a judge ordered over the summer until the lawsuit could go to trial.

Judge Howell has not issued a ruling in the case yet, but when he does Spectrum News will bring that update to you. ​

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