Editing Sunset Valley, Texas (section)

==History==
Mexico's passage of the [[General Colonization Law]] in 1825 enabled and encouraged immigration and settlement in unapportioned land.<ref name="InformalHistory" />{{rp|9}} The first recorded land transactions in the Sunset Valley area occurred in 1835, while the region was still under the jurisdiction of the [[States of Mexico|Mexican state]] of [[Coahuila y Tejas]]. The state apportioned 25&nbsp;[[Texas land survey system|labors of land]] (roughly equivalent to {{cvt|4425|acre}}) to Theodore Bissell and granted a similarly sized partition of land to the north to Thomas Anderson that same year.<ref name="CityHistory">{{cite web |title=City History |url=https://www.sunsetvalley.org/residents/city-history |publisher=City of Sunset Valley |access-date=July 30, 2023 |location=Sunset Valley, Texas}}</ref><ref name="InformalHistory" />{{rp|11–13}} Located south of [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], the apportioned land lay outside of the jurisdiction of [[Stephen F. Austin]]'s [[Old Three Hundred|colony]].<ref name="InformalHistory">{{cite book |title=An Informal History of Sunset Valley, Texas 1954-2004 |date=2004 |publisher=City of Sunset Valley |location=Sunset Valley, Texas |url=https://www.sunsetvalley.org/home/showpublisheddocument/414/637735537144300000 |access-date=July 30, 2023}}</ref>{{rp|11}} Sections of the lands held by Bissell and Anderson were sold to and settled by buyers over the course of subsequent decades following the [[Annexation of Texas]].<ref name="CityHistory" /><ref name="InformalHistory" />{{rp|13}} In the early 1950s, brothers M.H. and Clarence Flournoy acquired a large tract of land {{cvt|12|mi}} away from Austin, including what would become Sunset Valley, to develop a [[Subdivision (land)|subdivision]].<ref name="InformalHistory" />{{rp|13}} The Flournoys also drilled a [[well]] that would ultimately serve as the area's first water system.<ref name="CityHistory" /> A meeting of local residents led to the filing of a petition in 1954 to hold an election seeking to [[Municipal corporation|incorporate]] what had become known as Sunset Valley. The petition approximated the area to be incorporated as having an area less than {{cvt|2|mi2}} and a population of over 200. The election was granted, and on September 13, 1954, voters supported incorporation by a 45–6 vote. On September 17, 1954, the Village of Sunset Valley was officially incorporated with Clinton Vilven as its first mayor.<ref name="InformalHistory" />{{rp|15}} In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Sunset Valley was known for the [[Christmas lights]] adorning homes along Sunset Trail, attracting visitors from the Austin area. The city also sponsored Texas's largest youth [[rodeo]], which annually drew 250–300 participants and thousands of attendees. The rodeo's proceeds, along with a [[Voluntary taxation|voluntary tax program]], supported Sunset Valley's revenue in its early years.<ref name="InformalHistory" />{{rp|24–26}}

The growth of nearby Austin{{snd}}which impinged upon and eventually enveloped Sunset Valley's city limits{{snd}}led to frequent disputes over territory and jurisdiction. The borders of the newly incorporated Sunset Valley initially spanned from Prather Lane southwestward to Brodie Lane, and from Manchaca Road westward to the modern West Gate Shopping Center. However, in the decade following incorporation, several annexations and de-annexations led to confusion regarding Sunset Valley's borders and further territorial disputes complicated the city's borders. In 1963, the [[Texas Legislature]] granted incorporated areas [[extraterritorial jurisdiction]] (ETJ), giving municipalities the ability to regulate development in areas beyond their borders; the ETJs of Sunset Valley and nearby Austin overlapped.<ref name="InformalHistory" />{{rp|15–22}} Additional annexations and de-annexations occurred between 1964–1973.<ref name="InformalHistory" />{{rp|33–35}} In the 1970s, the [[Austin Independent School District]]'s (AISD) proposal to build an athletics complex and [[Bus garage|bus depot]] on Jones Road{{snd}}within Sunset Valley's jurisdiction{{snd}}met opposition from the Sunset Valley community, and the city declined permit issuance for the facility. The resulting legal challenge mounted by the city of Austin culminated in the case ''AISD v. City of Sunset Valley'' (1973), in which the [[Supreme Court of Texas]] ruled in favor of AISD, leading to the construction of the complex in 1976.<ref name="Cases1974">{{cite journal |title=Cases, Statutes, and Recent Developments |journal=The Urban Lawyer |date=1974 |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=677–731 |doi=|jstor=27893005 |publisher=American Bar Association |author1=M. L. M. |author2=W. G. |last3=K |first3=H. J. }}</ref><ref name="InformalHistory" />{{rp|40–43}} Sunset Valley's first city hall was built in 1977. Although informal police protection in Sunset Valley began in 1954, a formal [[police department]] was established in 1979.<ref name="CityHistory" /> While Sunset Valley began as a residential community, in 1990 the city approved the development of a {{cvt|60|acre|adj=on}} retail center. By 1990, the population had grown to 327. A wastewater system was constructed in the early 1990s with a grant from the [[Texas Water Development Board]]. In 1998, Sunset Valley entered into an inter-local agreement with the city of Austin to provide firefighting services.<ref name="CityHistory" /> The population rose to 365 by 2000, an 11.6 percent increase over the 1990 figure. 

In 2001, the [[United States Postal Service]] officially recognized Sunset Valley as a destination for mail delivery. While a vast majority of the city's land remains residential, commercial development has increased in recent years.<ref name="Texas Handbook">{{cite web | url = https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hls88 | title = Sunset Valley, Texas | publisher = [[The Handbook of Texas]] online | access-date = 2009-09-27}}</ref>