Following a public hearing at the special Planning and Zoning Commission meeting on May 9 in which residents voiced concern about the impact of the development, the commission recommended council deny the PDD to consider future traffic and tree study results. A final decision will be made at the City Council meeting on May 14.
The background
The Bastrop Gateway project is a development planned on 31 acres of land at the intersection of Pitt Street and Hwy. 71. Plans for the development include 600 residential units, retail space and a hotel. Designers of the project, Place Designs, held a public meeting on April 2 at which residents shared concerns.
What they're saying
Despite changes in design addressing concerns, many residents spoke in opposition of the PDD at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting May 9.
"You have to ask yourself who lives here and who's going to live close to this," Bastrop resident Pablo Serna said.
Planning and Zoning Commission Chair Ishmael Harris was among the six members of the board who voted for a recommendation of denial.
"I'm not saying that we don't need housing or anything like that, or we couldn't use a hotel or convention center or something along those lines," Harris said. "I truly think it needs to be planned strategically."
Sorting out the details
Originally planning a 12-story hotel on the land, the developers have since altered designs to reduce the hotel height to seven stories and move the site of the hotel downhill.
Several other updates have been made to the Bastrop Gateway project plans including:
- Addition of a 50-foot tree buffer to neighboring houses
- Confine commercial uses to Hwy. 71 and Pitt Street, further from existing neighborhood
- Reduce impervious cover from 90% to 80%
The Planning and Zoning Commission previously provided council with a recommendation to approve the PDD on March 28. The issue was remanded to staff at the April 9 City Council meeting.
A resident in the affected area claimed to not have received the required notice. In response, City Manager Sylvia Carrillo decided to remand the issue back to the Planning and Zoning Commission.
