Responding to concerns of littering and an apparent high volume of noise ordinance complaints, Pflugerville City Council Tuesday night discussed amending the public access hours for Lake Pflugerville.

After discussion, council voted at the July 24 regularly scheduled meeting to direct staff to come back at a later council meeting with recommendations for restricted trails and fishing hours. Council voted 5-2 with Jim McDonald and Doug Weiss dissenting.

Pflugerville Parks and Recreation Department Director James Hemenes told Council that the Parks and Recreation Commission recommended keeping the lake and trails hours open 24 hours.

Currently, 24 hour access is afforded to the trail surrounding Lake Pflugerville for hiking, biking, walking and jogging. Fishing is also allowed on Lake Pflugerville throughout the entirety of the day. Use of the rest of Lake Pflugerville is restricted from sunrise to 10 p.m., unless otherwise noted.

All trails in the city of Pflugerville are open 24 hours for hiking, biking, walking and jogging, per Hemenes.

The item was brought to discussion by council after Pflugerville Mayor Pro-tem Omar Pena in June raised concerns about littering at Lake Pflugerville. Much of the discussion Tuesday night centered around public safety concerns and noise ordinance complaints called in from the surrounding Villages of Hidden Lakes neighborhood.

Pflugerville Police Assistant Chief Jason Smith told council that the majority of the calls came from residents in Pflugerville's extraterritorial jurisdiction — not city residents.

Smith mentioned a shooting that occurred at Lake Pflugerville in May 2017, though news reports at that time show the shooting happened at approximately 9 p.m. No discussion was held to restrict the park hours at Lake Pflugerville, which run from sunrise to 10 p.m.

Surrounding cities such as Georgetown and Round Rock have restricted access hours for their trails and lakes, according to Hemenes.

The San Gabriel hike and bike trail is open between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m., per the city of Georgetown website, and Old Settlers Park in Round Rock is open daily from 6 a.m. to midnight.

City staff will now return to council with a recommendation for a vote on Lake Pflugerville access hours restrictions. A date for that vote was not set at Tuesday's meeting.