The Lakeway City Council is scheduled Jan. 19 to consider the annexation and zoning of 11.03 acres in an area of the Lakeway Highlands subdivision that has drawn the attention and concern of some residents living in the neighboring Crosswind community in Spicewood.

If annexed, the city likely would also zone it for use as a park. The acreage lies east of Crosswind Drive and west of the Tomichi Trail, adjacent to the Rough Hollow Elementary School, according to city documents.

Exact details of the park’s features and topography have yet to be decided but are included as part of Lakeway’s larger master park plan. A draft of the park plan is currently under evaluation by city staff and City Council members.

Neighboring residents spoke at a Jan. 11 public hearing of the Lakeway Zoning & Planning Commission, asking Lakeway officials to delay the annexation to allow for an environmental impact study of the proposed park and to consider the possibility of keeping the acreage undeveloped as a greenbelt. At that same meeting, city planning commissioners voted to bring the issues of annexation and zoning before the council.

Guy Rowland, the president of the Crosswind Property Owners Association, attended that meeting and said he will attend the Jan. 19 council meeting. He said he will continue to voice his concern about the long-term impact of creating a park so close to an area of Lake Travis known as Little Rough Hollow Cove.

“We are not saying, 'Don’t do it,'” he said. “We are saying, ‘Please do it correctly.’”

Crosswind is a community of about 85 homeowners whose lots are situated in an unincorporated area of Spicewood. The community has a lakefront park along Little Rough Hollow Cove.

Rowland said the correct path forward would be to first involve representatives of his neighborhood and other governmental entities, such as the Lower Colorado River Authority and Travis County, to evaluate how a park at this location should be built and maintained. The LCRA manages the Highland Lakes, which Lake Travis is a part of. It manages water quality in the lakes through a watershed ordinance, according to the LCRA's website.

In other business, the Lakeway council is slated Jan. 19 to review a draft of its master park plan. The draft includes a proposal for park amenities at the Lakeway Highlands site being proposed for annexation. The draft parks plan names the area as Butler Park, and among the proposed amenities are sports fields, basketball courts, natural areas and playground equipment catered to people with disabilities.