The Zoning and Platting Commission approved postponing the case at its Oct. 18 meeting to give area residents more time to read through the proposed development’s traffic impact analysis and provide input. The Nov. 1 meeting is at 6 p.m. at Austin City Hall, 301 W. Second St., Austin.
“We also want to ask that we avoid the unforeseen consequences of rushing and take the time to do this correctly,” said Chris Edwards, a board member of both the Balcones Civic Association and Courtland Oaks Homeowners Association.
The existing 445,0322-square-foot Austin Oaks office complex sits on about 31 acres of land on the southwest corner of Spicewood Springs Road and MoPac. Developer Spire Realty is proposing to build 250 apartment units, 673,000 square feet of office space, 169,000 square feet of medical and dental office space, 46,700 square feet of restaurant space and a 100-room hotel, according to city documents.The property would be redeveloped in phases between 2018 and 2024, according to city documents. The developer submitted its third proposal in April after completing a design charrette with residents and stakeholders in January.
In July, the developer submitted an updated traffic impact analysis, or TIA, which the city reviewed and released comments Oct. 6.
The proposed development would generate about 15,562 daily trips, and that has many residents concerned given the existing traffic conditions in the area. City staff analyzed existing conditions and ranked them based on their level of service, or LOS. Intersections with the lowest rankings in peak periods include the northbound and southbound intersections of MoPac at Spicewood Springs and Steck Avenue.
City staff also reported “existing capacity concerns are identified along the Loop 1 (MoPac) corridor. The impacts of these regional issues were observed at intersections in the study area … Although major improvements are necessary at intersections along Loop 1, these would need to be undertaken as regional improvements to achieve the acceptable LOS.”
The report identified several traffic improvement recommendations, including widening sections of roadways, adding turn lanes, improving turn lanes and installing a traffic signal at Executive Center and Wood Hollow drives by 2024.
City staff also recommended within one year of receiving rezoning approval the developer would pay the city $420,000 to install a traffic signal at Hart Lane and Spicewood Springs. The city also recommended Spire work with the Texas Department of Transportation on other projects to improve traffic at Spicewood Springs and MoPac.
Visti the ZAP meeting page to view backup documents here.
