Updated Jan. 12 at 10:01 a.m. to include comments from Tyler Williams, the developer of townhomes near Kyle's Silverado subdivision. A Hampton Inn hotel could be the first to take advantage of the city of Kyle’s new height parameters for buildings. The Hampton Inn, which will be located 151 Bunton Creek Road, is applying for a conditional use permit to exceed a 45-foot-tall threshold that buildings in the city’s retail service district, which is mostly along the I-35 corridor, adhere to. Kyle City Council voted 5-0 on Jan. 5 to approve that request on first reading. Council will have a second reading on the item at an upcoming meeting. City Council approved in March increasing the maximum height of buildings in the retail service district. Developers that receive conditional use permits can build structures up to 150 feet high. The hotel will be four stories and 59 feet tall upon completion. It will have 82 rooms.

Townhome development zoning change

Residents in Silverado, a southwest Kyle neighborhood, showed up to testify against a proposed townhome development near the subdivision, and a zoning change requested by the owner and developer was ultimately denied Jan. 5. Tyler Williams, the petitioner who submitted the zoning change request, said the intention with the property was to provide a buffer between a commercial-industrial area and single-family homes. "We thought this project—upscale single family town homes—was a great transition to buffer neighborhoods from heavy business, a win-win for the city and for us as landowners," Williams said. "It would generate a lot of tax base and clean up some abandoned and vacant ground. Now we'll have to go back and look at all our options." Kyle City Council voted 5-1 against the zoning change request for 1.3 acres at 707 Live Oak St. After that vote, Williams opted to withdraw a request to change the zoning to accommodate a 14-acre townhome development at Live Oak Street and St. Anthony Street. Silverado residents voiced concerns the townhomes would further traffic congestion in the neighborhood, decrease property values and create drainage problems in the area. Sue Ellen Creek said the townhomes could add anywhere from 175 vehicles to 400 vehicles driving on the area’s main thoroughfares if every home has at least two vehicles. “As a resident there my main concern is traffic,” Creek said. “It’s going to definitely increase.” The city of Kyle Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-1 on Dec. 22 to recommend approval of the request, and city staff supported the zoning change. City Planning Director Howard Koontz said the townhome development is in line with the city’s comprehensive plan and addresses a housing need. “It’s a housing type that Kyle is woefully short on,” Koontz said. “It’s an excellent buffer between the commercial [development] on Rebel Drive and the [residential development] of Silverado to the east.”