The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality unanimously voted to recommend denying the Violet Crown Amphitheater project's request to extend water and wastewater services to its proposed site Feb. 16.
The planned amphitheater is a more than 20,000-seat arena that would serve as the centerpiece of an entertainment district, which will feature a golf-driving range, retail shops, a distillery and a tasting room. The site will also contain two residential buildings.
Violet Crown Amphitheater will be located on 71 acres northwest of Hwy. 71 and Southwest Parkway, adjacent to the Barton Creek Habitat Preserve.
The preserve serves as habitat for rare plants and migratory birds, including the endangered golden-cheeked warbler.
Kaela Champlin, an environmental program coordinator with the Austin Watershed Protection Department, said Violet Crown’s requested 16,000 feet of wastewater and water lines would cross Barton Creek and possibly Williamson Creek, two critical water quality zones. She recommended the denial of the extensions on behalf of the watershed protection department staff.
“The impacts from the proposed water and wastewater lines would require significant infrastructure improvements in an environmentally sensitive area,” Champlin said.
Developer Craig Bryan said the project would be “a venue that is unlike anywhere else in the world,” comparable to the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado and the Hollywood Bowl. He emphasized the project would be completed “in a manner that is environmentally conscious.”
The project would comply with the Save Our Springs ordinance, which ensures that developments in the Barton Springs Zone are subject to increased regulation to protect the water quality of Barton Springs and the Edwards Aquifer.
Developer Steve Ihnen noted the critical water zones around the planned amphitheater are already impacted by the highway running alongside them and said that adding a water or wastewater line “is not going to have any additional impact at all.”
If the city of Austin denies wastewater service, Violet Crown developers have two options: seeking wastewater service from a different provider or getting a permit to build an on-site wastewater system. Developer Jim Witliff said both options have “a higher probability of polluting Barton Creek.”
Representatives from the Travis County Audubon Society, the Save Our Springs Alliance, the Austin Zoo and the Nature Conservancy as well as residents of the area asked the environmental commission to deny Violet Crown’s request, citing potential light and sound pollution and its effect on local residents and native animals.
“City of Austin taxpayers have spent many tens of millions of dollars to protect that area for both endangered wildlife and for water quality,” said Bill Bunch, executive director of the Save Our Springs Alliance, before the commission. “We urge you to protect the investment that we’ve made in keeping this area beautiful, clean and healthy for wildlife and for people.”
The Austin City Council will vote to approve or deny Violet Crown’s water and wastewater extension request in April.
