A new luxury storage facility may be coming soon to Lakeway by the roundabout on Highlands Boulevard and Bee Creek Road.
The Lakeway Zoning and Planning Commission met Nov. 6 to review plans for the facility to determine whether it was viable for a special use permit. Though a final decision has not been made by City Council, the commission recommended that the permit be approved by City Council at its next meeting.
The facility, developed by Carlson, Brigand & Doering, was originally put forward as a luxury storage building with car suites and temperature controlled rooms for wine storage. It is a smaller piece of a planned neighborhood commercial center to be constructed around the roundabout on Highlands Boulevard and Bee Creek Road, according to the Nov. 6 staff report.
The overview
Typically, when reviewing applications for special use permits, the commission evaluates a wide range of concerns, including how the development may impact surrounding communities. However, due to an existing agreement made between the city and developers in 2021, the commission was required only to ensure that the developers had met three specific terms laid out in that agreement, including:
- A: The architecture and landscaping plans provided comply with established standards for typical office building construction.
- B: Access to individual storage rooms will be internal, and unit doors will not be visible from outside the building.
- C: The facility will be designed and constructed to reflect the design and finishes provided in previously submitted site plans.
The discussion
A number of residents in attendance at the meeting voiced their disagreement with the storage facility.
Resident Bryan Chapman, who lives directly across from the facility, argued that there was no need for more storage buildings in the area.
“There’s 10 other storage units down the road. Do we really need another one down here right in front of our families? In front of my kids?” Chapman said. “I’m going to be seeing it day in and day out when I go to my parents. I don’t want to have to deal with the extra traffic.”
Other residents like Thomas Madison and Stephanie Chapman argued that the facility would result in increased traffic to the area, potentially endangering children who play at the neighboring Bee Creek Sports Complex.
Haythem Dawlett, a representative for Carlson, Brigand & Doering, addressed resident concerns and said that traffic would not be a problem.
“It’s barren,” Dawlett said. “You have two or three trucks, maybe, going in a day, and no one visits the storage facilities at night.”
Chair of ZAPCO Louis Mastrangelo reminded residents at the end of the meeting that issues not pertaining to items A, B, and C, in the development agreement are not under the commission’s consideration.
“Let me remind everybody—this was approved as a storage unit by council in the revised agreement in 2021. The approval was based on this: ZAPCO is to make a recommendation based on A, B, and C.”
A permit was not granted during the meeting, but ZAPCO’s recommendation to approve marks a step forward for developers of the storage facility.
What’s next?
Lakeway City Council will hold their next meeting Nov. 18, where the facility’s special use permit will either be approved or denied.
