Lakeway approves zoning classification for automobile sales

In a unanimous decision, Lakeway City Council approved an ordinance Oct. 21

allowing auto dealerships to operate within the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction.

Lakeway's new zoning classification is applicable to new car dealerships only, although the ordinance permits a site to house used cars as well. The decision came after Lexus of Austin approached council members about building a sales and service center on a 20-acre tract at the corner of Clara Van Street and RR 620, Deputy City Manager Chessie Zimmerman said. She said council members and Lexus staffers met with neighbors of the potential car dealership site on two occasions to gain input before city administrators drafted the ordinance.

The North Lakeway Village community, located adjacent to the proposed Lexus site, appointed a committee to voice its concerns to the city before council made a decision on the ordinance, Zimmerman said. She said the concerns, together with a review of Lakeway's Comprehensive Plan, formed the basis for the new zoning classification.

Prior to the Oct. 21 City Council vote, the city's zoning code prohibited automobile sales lots in Lakeway.

Community input

Residents protested the zoning ordinance at the City Council meeting as well as at the Oct. 2 zoning and planning commission meeting that resulted in a recommendation to approve the ordinance.

Some Lakeway citizens asked council to do more research before agreeing to allow car dealerships in the city. They cited concerns over RR 620 becoming a "motor mile," increased traffic from test drives and customer access, and the possibility of a negative impact on home values, especially those close to a dealership.

"Car dealerships don't belong here—they don't belong in Lakeway," resident Tiffany McMillan said to council members. "Has there been a study done [to show] that we have the infrastructure to handle this? [RR] 620 can't handle any more traffic."

Resident Salina Proctor said her home backs up to Clara Van Street and the proposed Lexus of Lakeway site. She attended the community meetings about the possible facility and said the high-end dealership is better than other businesses the tract could be used for.

"After the meeting, we got a good feeling about Lexus and what they had planned," Proctor said. "I'm not thrilled about living behind a dealership, but I wouldn't want to live behind a big-box store."

Zimmerman said the amendment does not permit car dealerships within 2 miles of one another, thereby eliminating the potential for RR 620 to become inundated with car dealerships. She said the new classification requires a 20-acre site limited to only an intersection with a traffic signal on RR 620 or Hwy. 71. With greater impervious cover restrictions, vegetative buffer requirements, increased setbacks and prohibition of outdoor speakers and paging systems, the new zoning is more restrictive than the Lexus parcel's original zoning, she said.

"We felt like we had a good proposal that made sense in Lakeway," Zimmerman said.

Each council member said he or she was in favor of the ordinance when polled for a statement before Mayor Dave DeOme called for a final vote on the measure.

"I think it is pathetic that not one council member spoke against it," resident Monique Threadgill said following the vote. "With a community that divisive, wouldn't it be nice if one City Council [member] represented that part of the community?"

Laura Mitchell, Lake Travis Chamber of Commerce president, addressed council in favor of the ordinance and cited the potential job growth Lexus of Lakeway could bring the community.

"The Chamber of Commerce is the voice for business in the Lake Travis area, and as president I wanted to support a member business that has been a loyal supporter of the chamber for years," Mitchell said after the meeting.

Councilman Joe Bain said he was initially opposed to permitting car sales in Lakeway, but after reviewing the new zoning standards and noting only a small number of residents were opposed to the new ordinance, he changed his mind.

"The fact that there was a unanimous vote reflects the fact that [council members] did not hear opposition except from a small, vocal group," DeOme said. "The problem was that there was a vast majority that wanted this."

Items related to the rezoning, platting and preliminary plan approval for Lexus of Lakeway will be heard by Lakeway Zoning and Planning on Dec. 4 and City Council on Dec. 16, Zimmerman said.