Updated 8/16/13 8:27 a.m.

Officials consider whether to allow emergency or full access

A proposed second entryway into Leander's Crystal Falls neighborhood has area officials asking whether the new connection should be open to all traffic or only emergency vehicles.

Leander City Council on Sept. 5 will begin annexing land immediately north of Leander's Grand Mesa subdivision in the Crystal Falls neighborhood near CR 290. If the annexation is approved, the city intends to open up the new connection to all traffic, while Travis County officials would prefer the connection be accessible only to emergency vehicles and nearby residents.

Crystal Falls Parkway currently serves as the only entry and exit into the master-planned community. Opening up an access point on CR 290 would allow residents to travel to Nameless Road and the rest of Leander's north side, which includes the Capital Metro Park & Ride train station and H-E-B Plus.

Residents along CR 290 have protested the proposed connection, and Travis County officials have also been hesitant to approve the access point unless it is gated and used only by emergency vehicles or Crystal Falls residents. Travis County officials and The Lookout Development Group—the Crystal Falls developer—are close to an agreement to creating a gated, emergency-only access point.

Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty, whose Precinct 3 includes Crystal Falls, said the road could not handle any more unintended traffic.

"We're pretty insisting that be an emergency-only exit," Daugherty said.

But because Leander wants full access to be allowed, the city must annex the land to have full control, said Tom Yantis, Leander director of development services. The city is working with three landowners to voluntarily annex their properties, he said, rather than be forcefully annexed—a procedure that requires more land to be taken than the amount necessary to complete the connection.

Regardless of the level of access, The Lookout Group intends on covering the cost for the new connection, said Mike Siefert, vice president of construction for The Lookout Development Group. The gated, emergency-only access could be ready 30 days after a building permit is issued, he said.

"It was always the plan to connect from the beginning," Siefert said. "It's yet to be determined how the gate is ultimately used."

No matter the connection's use, the new access point must be built as soon as possible, Leander Fire Chief Bill Gardner said, because it not only allows resources to come into the neighborhood but also gives an additional evacuation route.

"The ability to have multiple access points is necessary for the survivability and safety of the residents in those areas," he said. "We're faced with a challenge until that connectivity occurs."

The biggest challenge, Gardner said, is whether to continue granting occupancy permits to new Grand Mesa residents at the back end of the new subdivision.

"Not because we don't want people in our community but we want them to be safe, and it's our charge to make sure they are," he said.

While gated access might limit or delay emergency response times, Gardner said such access is still better than no connection at all.

If full access is granted through the entryway, discussion will likely shift to CR 290, a rural road shared by Travis and Williamson counties. The road will need to be upgraded, Daugherty said, especially if the new connection is open to all Crystal Falls residents.

"We would need to get everybody to the table, quite frankly, that is benefiting from the taxes being created from that subdivision," he said. "Is there any one group that needs to be saddled with that debt? Probably not."

Daugherty said he suspects the connection will remain gated until a determination is made as to how best to upgrade CR 290. The Lookout Group will continue working with Leander and both counties to establish a long-term agreement, Siefert said.

"We're just ready to finish it," he said.