Council voted unanimously to deny the district’s request.
This was the third reading of an agreement between the city of Lakeway and Lake Travis ISD to fast track the development of a new elementary school in Lake Travis for the 2024-25 school year.
Several council members said their concerns over increased traffic to the area had not been satisfied.
Mayor Thomas Kilgore said the community feedback he received had been “very distinct.”
“I only had one resident tell me this was a critical idea, that we should approve this,” he said.
Lake Travis ISD Superintendent Paul Norton said, based on the council's previous recommendation, the district is working on adding a second access for bus drop-offs on the north side of the property as it would allow them to have 40 more “stacking spots,” or multilevel parking, on the new campus.
During the first reading of the development agreement Jan. 17, there was one proposed entrance from the new school onto Bee Creek Road.
Norton said it was also not feasible for the school to be built on the 89-acre district-owned property off Hwy. 71 due to safety and congestion issues presented by being right off the state highway.
Council Member Sanjeev Kumar said his concern was, even with the adjustments LTISD was working on to alleviate traffic, that traffic would continue to get worse as the area was further built out; the proposed 11 acres Elementary School No. 8 would have been built on are right next to the Bee Creek Sports Complex, which is slated to open in 2023.
“Traffic has always been my No. 1 issue here, and I don’t believe my concerns have been addressed,” he said.
Council Member Keith Trecker said there were “no good options” to the situation.
“We are either going to have to live with overcrowding in the schools or live with traffic,” he said.
Because the ordinance that was denied was only to approve a development agreement, LTISD can appear before council again to request development at the same location, Kilgore said.
