The details
Although the zoning change was placed on the agenda for an Oct. 21 meeting, James Cowey, Bastrop’s director of development services, told Bastrop City Council that the item won’t come to a vote until a Dec. 9 meeting.
Some context
Paradise Engineers is designing the project for Iron Realty.
The nearly 7.4-acre property at 2002 Hwy. 95, Bastrop, which is currently vacant, is east of the Public Works Department and south of the Bastrop Youth Baseball and Softball Organization’s fields.
Although developers do not need a zoning change from an employment center designation to move forward with their current plans, officials said they are seeking a planned development district designation to better partner with the city.
“A planned development district allows us to work with the developers to come up with designs and standards,” Cowey said during an Oct. 1 town hall meeting. “They can’t deviate from that design, and through this process, we can address drainage, access, traffic, etc.”
What officials are saying
Under the existing employment center zoning—a designation for a mix of development uses, including commercial, retail and office—developers could begin construction with no public input, as previously reported by Community Impact.
“I just want to make sure we're super clear about what we're deciding between,” Place 3 council member Kevin Plunkett said during the town hall meeting. “It's this apartment complex [with multiunit town homes and a restaurant], or just about any kind of crazy thing they could come up with.”
Bastrop Mayor Ishmael Harris said developers initially wanted their site plan to include two four-story buildings on the site—three stories for residential units and one for commercial spaces, such as doughnut and pizza shops.
However, the developers have since updated the site plan to remove one story of residential units.
“They are wanting to do what the people of Bastrop want,” he said during the town hall meeting. “For them to drop a whole story of living space to accommodate says a whole lot. When it comes to development, that’s dollars for those developers. So I was shocked when I heard that.”
The outlook
With traffic remaining at the top of Bastrop City Council’s concerns, Bastrop City Manager Sylvia Carrillo-Trevino highlighted that city staff are working with the Texas Department of Transportation to extend Linden Street to Hwy. 95 and reduce the speed limit on Hwy. 95 near the development.
“I really feel like we've got to get the TxDOT improvements resolved and underway, and I think that's happening sooner rather than later,” she said.
