What we know
Brittany Epling, a senior planner with the city of Bastrop, told Bastrop City Council during a Dec. 16 meeting the planned Bastrop Development Code will keep “the most important intentions” of the B3 Code and ensure that regulations are “clearer, simpler and more predictable to administer.”
“The Bastrop Development Code is intended to guide land use and development through clear standards and consistent procedures so that growth remains authentically Bastrop, fiscally and environmentally sustainable, and thoughtfully planned to meet future needs,” she said in a staff report.
Epling added that the Bastrop Development Code, unlike the B3 Code, will be a Euclidean-based zoning ordinance, which separates land use by type, and will focus on the following areas:
- Clearly named zoning districts with development standards, such as lot size, setback and building height
- A comprehensive landscape ordinance and a review of the tree mitigation ordinance
- A consolidated minimum off-street parking table for commercial uses
- Special districts and overlays
- Sidewalk and access/connectivity standards
- An updated sign code
The Development Services Department presented a second draft of the Bastrop Development Code to Bastrop City Council on Dec. 16.
Updates to the initial draft include:
- A district matching the certified Main Street Program area that ties it to future design guidelines
- More specific driveway spacing and access management standards
- Refined traffic impact analysis thresholds and clarification on when TIAs may be required
- The addition of an agricultural use table and definitions to distinguish home gardens, community gardens and urban farms from one another
- The requirement of conditional use permits for higher-intensity urban farming in certain districts
- Allowing one accessory dwelling unit—a secondary, smaller living space on the same property as a main house—in single-family districts and up to two ADUs in rural and mixed-use districts
A third and final draft of the Bastrop Development Code will be presented during a public hearing at a future Bastrop City Council meeting.
