Update 6:40 p.m. - The Zoning and Platting Commission unanimously approved postponement of the two River Place zoning cases to Feb. 21. Jeff Howard, a representative of the developer, MileStone Community, said the request was because principals from The Autism Trust were away in the United Kingdom.

Ted Gaunt, a resident on Milky Way Drive - the road the opposing neighborhood feels will be negatively impacted by the traffic from the proposed development - voiced displeasure, on behalf of the neighborhood, with the amount of postponements this case has received. Tuesday was the ninth time the case has been postponed since Dec. 15, 2015.

"I want everyone to understand that this gamesmanship of constantly delaying and pushing out has had a real cost to the neighborhood," Gaunt said. "We'd like to ask for a commitment that the next date be the date, so we don't find yet another reason for an entire community to set time aside and have the date change again."

Thomas Weber, chair of the commission, said if both parties are ready for the case to be heard on Feb. 21, then there should be no reason for another postponement

 

Updated 1:48 p.m. -According to Andrew Rivera from the Planning and Zoning Department, the neighborhood and the applicants have agreed to postpone both items - the neighborhood development and autism center - until Feb. 21. However, nothing will be certain until the Zoning and Platting Commission officially approves the postponement request at tonight's meeting.

The River Place tract rezoning cases, on which the development of a single-family neighborhood and center for adults with autism hangs in the balance, may be looking at yet another postponement at tonight’s Zoning and Platting Commission meeting. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Austin City Hall, 301 W. 2nd St.

According to Andrew Rivera from the Planning and Zoning Department, Jonathan Tommey, from The Autism Trust, has filed a request to postpone the case until Feb. 7; however, the River Place Homeowners Association [RPHOA] requested the case be postponed until Feb. 21.

The related rezoning item—concerning the adjacent 42-acre tract where a residential development containing 60-82 homes is proposed—could still be heard tonight.

The items have been grouped together on agendas and postponed eight times since Dec. 2015. Rivera said the postponement requests have varied between staff, the applicants, the neighborhood and the commission. He said neither postponement is definite until the commission makes a decision tonight.

In 2014, the owner of the 82-acre tract, Berta Bradley, sold 42 acres to MileStone Community Builders, which had plans to develop a single-family neighborhood. The remaining 40 acres were donated to The Autism Trust, an organization started by the Tommey Family that provides assisted living programs to adults with autism. The Tommeys hope to construct a living center for adults with autism.

The pushback on the development came from the RPHOA, which had objections over how much traffic the new neighborhood would create. The neighborhood’s main access point would be through Milky Way Drive, which is a quiet, residential street featuring homes valued upwards of $1 million on large lots.

The applicant’s original request was for a higher-density, single-family neighborhood designation, and the plan was to build 110 homes. According to city documents, the city’s planning and zoning department will recommend a lower density designation that allows for only 60-82 single-family homes to decrease the potential traffic density created by the development.

For more background, check out our coverage of the proposed development from August 2015.