Sunset Valley leaders rejected a revised plan to bring the sport of curling to just outside of city limits.

On Jan. 8, Sunset Valley City Council unanimously denied a site plan application for the Austin Curling Center, a proposed facility on Country White Lane dedicated to the Winter Olympics sport.

City leaders were quick to praise the idea of a curling center but took issue with the new plan's insufficient on-site parking, lack of a written agreement ensuring off-site parking and outstanding issues that would need to be resolved through variances.

The vote followed a public hearing in which many residents opposed the current design.

Applicants Dennis and Anita Dunn told Community Impact Newspaper that they were unsurprised by the council's decision. Anita Dunn said they will consider submitting a new site plan similar to their original October 2010 concept with 24 on-site parking spaces.

The Dunns had submitted conceptual plans to the city government that year but did not submit a formal site plan until Nov. 1. They submitted a revised site plan Dec. 31.

Background and issues

Country White Lane is located in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ). It is not a part of Sunset Valley or the City of Austin. Sunset Valley has limited authority over its development.

City Administrator Clay Collins said that property in the ETJ is subject to city watershed, subdivision and sign regulations. The property is not subject to zoning, building codes or parking regulations.

The December site plan revision would require variances for:

Replotting two lots into one

Exceeding the impervious cover code cap on a per-lot basis

Impervious cover is covered land—typically buildings or parking lots—where rain cannot soak back into the soil. Sunset Valley code caps impervious cover at 18 percent.

The December revision has 18 percent impervious cover across the total two-lot property, but not on a per-lot basis.

Mayor Rose Cardona explained that the preliminary site plan serves as a back-and-forth with the city and that approval signals that the applicant can move forward with full engineering drawings. If a preliminary site plan was approved, the council would have to approve variances with the final site plan.

Presentation and parking

Addressing the council, Dennis Dunn called the curling center a locally owned and operated mom and pop business.

Dunn said that the project had the support of United States Curling Association and the Austin Sports Commission. He hoped to host school and collegiate teams, summer camps and after-school programs. Visitors would likely patronize local businesses, rent hotel rooms and support the city's sales tax, he said.

He said that the curling center had two parking spots but that he had received verbal approval from Lowe's that the center could use the store's parking lot. The curling center could have valet parking during all business hours, he said.

Cardona asked if he had a written document with Lowe's acknowledging any agreement to use the parking lot. He said he did not and that he had spoken with their representatives.

Cardona asked what was the curling center's backup plan for parking if Lowe's said no. Dunn said that Lowe's has said that they could request written documentation from the company's corporate offices if needed.

"Let's say you get farther along, and they realize that you have two parking spots and you're planning on putting 100 percent of your patrons on their parking lot during all of your operating hours, and that you're going to be serving alcohol " she asked.

"They said we can. Why would they say no?" he asked, adding, "We'll worry about it when they say no."

Cardona said the city had contacted the store's general manager and was told that the business didn't know about the project.

"I have talked to the manager at Lowe's," Dunn replied.

Dunn compared his project to the Brodie Events Center, which is located in the Brodie Homestead and Barn on Brodie Lane. Cardona said the two projects were not comparable, as the Brodie Events Center is in a commercial zone with a great deal of nearby parking.

The events center received written permission from AISD to tackle parking overflow and would not be open on a daily basis, she said.

The mayor asked about why information about a restaurant and bar was not included in a project brochure the curling center distributed.

Dunn said the center sent out the first page of a brochure to residents and said he has not hidden any aspect of the curling center project. He said he would have to give notice to residents that the center would serve alcohol when he applied for a liquor license.

Local versus national events

"When you talk about the community events, those are the things that make me excited about your project," Cardona said. "That you want to do senior, high school and youth activities—are the local community activities that you want to bring to Sunset Valley and Austin, are those just as important as bringing in the national Olympic label, or will those things take second chair?"

"I think they're more important," Dunn said. "We're both educators. The reason we are doing it here is because we are members of this community. I care about the community."

"Is there a reason, if the local activities are more important than the Olympic activities, why wouldn't you do the three-lane facility that allows residents to curl and have parking spaces?" Cardona asked.

"The three-lane facility that was presented before had parking spots there, and the council will not grant a variance. [The council] will not give you those parking spots. [They said] 'we will not give you those variances because impervious cover is an issue,'" he said. "We did that with 24 [parking spaces], and the council turned it down. You told us to submit 18 percent and we did 18 percent. We expect to be done."

Cardona said the city does not have the ability to regulate parking in its ETJ, but that the city can question and talk about the issue.

"It's 18 percent, plus you can't have parking spots in the water quality transition zone," Councilman Jeff Burdett said. "Plus you also have to figure out how to make two lots into one. That's what we said. We didn't say, '18 percent, you're done.'"

The mayor said that the Dunns should submit a site plan that requires no variances if they want to stop appearing before council.

"That's not what you've done. You've shaved a little bit off of each end of your building and you eliminated your parking spaces. That actually feels like you're snubbing us," she said.

Public comments

Former mayor Terry Cowan said he saw several faults with the project. He said the project does not fit with the property, the city's master plan and the residential character of the neighborhood. He also noted that there was no written documentation for the parking.

"What does this mean for Country White Lane? It means that people will have to park up inside their neighborhood, which will devalue the residential character of the neighborhood," he said. He said there may be traffic and safety issues.

Jim Woods supported the project. He described himself as a curling fan and was excited when he heard the project was being proposed.

Miguel Huerta said the site plan was not evolved enough for the council to approve it. He had no objection to curling or to the merits of the project, but he called not having the documentation a preparedness issue.

He said there was a difference between the legal and the right way to do things.

"In the State of Texas, it is not illegal to cheat on your spouse, but it ain't right, and I suggest you not. Same thing here. There are no parking regulations, but coming in with a site plan with two spots ain't right, and I suggest you don't do it," he said.

Former council member Donald Hurwitz said that visitors would likely park on nearby residential streets such as Oakdale Drive.

Mary Black said she had talked to the Burger Center and was told they could not handle any additional overflow parking.

Melissa Gonzales compared the project's dialogue to talking with teenagers. She called the plan not plausible or reasonable.

Final comments

Councilwoman Mickie Powers said that she wished she could come to a place like the curling center if curling was her sport.

She also wished she could pick the perfect site in the city for this project to be located and that the applicants already owned that property.

Powers referenced a checklist of criteria that council members review before granting variances. The last item asks if the change proposed is minor.

"I don't feel like this is a minor thing," she said, adding, "I would have a very hard time supporting this."

Cardona said the curling center would be the first commercial development on Country White Lane and may set a precedent for future developments. She noted that she does not vote in regular council actions—only to break ties.

Burdett said while the city cannot control parking matters, he called the design's two parking spaces "craziness."

"I think you could show this to high school students and they would say, 'This doesn't make any sense,'" he said.

He said that City Council takes its water transition zone rules seriously and turned down erecting some kind of birdhouse structure on city property because it was in the water transition zone.