Bastrop City Council will host a public hearing about North End Prairie—a proposed 42-home, 4-acre development—during a special meeting Aug. 19.

It will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Bastrop Convention Center, 1408 Chestnut St. in Bastrop.

“The public hearing is being held in response to an appeal made by the applicant,” city officials said in a statement posted to social media.

The background

In early March, developers of North End Prairie—located south of Linden Street, east of Hill Street, west of Pecan Street and North of Buchanan Street—submitted a vesting determination, also known as a “grandfathering request.”

Five items were requested to be vested, including:

• Parking: one parking spot per bedroom
• Flood protection: reduction of impervious cover from 60% to 50%
• Additional dwelling units: must meet parking and flood protection ratios
• Tree protections: caliper inches were increased to align with the city of Bastrop Tree City Designation and reduce environmental heat
• Tree survey: required and cannot be older than 2 years old

Officials, who reviewed applicable regulations and sought guidance from legal counsel, determined that additional dwelling units, tree protections and tree survey could be vested, while parking and flood protection could not, according to city documents.

The applicant received notice March 28 and appealed the decision July 23, according to city documents.

Some context

Jodie Smith, who owns the property with her husband Tom Leibowitz, previously highlighted that the disagreement with city officials largely stems from whether Article 1.20 of the Bastrop Municipal Code, which the city amended earlier this year, applies to the North End Prairie development.

For Smith, who cited Texas Local Government Code Chapter 245, the answer is simple.

“State law protects developments from cities changing the rules on them mid-stream,” she told Community Impact in an email. “The law says that developments can be approved under the regulations that were in place when the project began.”

Instead of applying the regulations that were in place in August 2022, when the North End Prairie development submitted its first permit, Smith emphasized that the updated rules were set in motion.

“The first step is for the city to abide by state law and review this project on the regulations that were in place when the project was started in August 2022,” Smith said.

Also of note

The public hearing will be livestreamed on the city of Bastrop’s Facebook page, and residents unable to attend can email officials their questions and comments to [email protected], according to officials.