A traffic impact analysis presented to the Magnolia City Council on June 9 brought up concerns regarding a proposed development.

The development, which has yet to be annexed by the city, would include 105 homes and be located on 69.5 acres of land just north of Kelly Road.

The impact analysis was done by LJA Engineering, and it estimates 600 daily trips would be added with the development.

Magnolia City Council Member Daniel Miller said he was concerned if the roads in the area are in a condition to handle increased use and use from construction vehicles.

“Has anybody done engineering studies, is it thick enough to support the trucks ... or is it going to be torn to hell?” he said. “Because as far as I know that is just a little thin road out there.”

Miller said he had no problems with the location of the development, just the traffic going in and out of the neighborhoods.

David Rivera, a representative of LJA Engineering, said a financial analysis of the revenue generated from property tax on the land could be a way to pay for improving or fixing the road.

“It would generate [$149,000] a year in property tax for the city,” he said.

Rivera said he did not see the client, which had purchased the property, paying to fix the road.

Mayor Todd Kana said when the road was originally built, it was not engineered for the construction traffic it will have to endure with this project.

“We didn’t engineer that street at the edge of our city limits to provide access to a development of 100 homes,” he said. “I can’t tell you the damage [the project] could incur.”

As the city has already paid for the road, Kana said the city should not pay for it again because of action that was not considered in the city at the time.

Considering the entrance to the development is accessible via Kelly Road and Rolling Hills Drive, Rivera said residents should not be concerned about safety issues.

“Ideally these are going to be people with families, and they are not going to be zipping through their own neighborhood,” he said.

Rooted Development CEO Peter Houghton, the developer for the project, said the traffic study was done to find out what the impact would be.

"It basically said there is no adverse impact on the traffic on the existing system," he said.

Houghton said the project is still in the planning stages of development.

“We probably wouldn't move forward with any development for the rest of this year,” he said. “We’ve still got to engineer and submit the final plat.”