Adrian Overstreet, managing member of the Hill Country Galleria, told the Bee Cave Planning and Zoning Commission on March 19 that he wanted to add a hotel along Bee Cave Parkway on a tract that is currently used as a detention pond behind Dick's Sporting Goods.

Plans for the hotel include 200–250 rooms and about 200 parking spaces located beneath the building and below ground level with four stories of guest rooms atop the parking deck. Plans also call for 8,000–10,000 square feet of meeting space, a coffee shop, swimming pool on the ground level and possibly a rooftop bar.

Todd Runkle of Gensler & Associates, architect for the proposal, said Sonesta Hotels was the operator for the project.

"When I first came to the Galleria, everyone had a wish list," Overstreet said. "There is a strong feeling that this city has matured enough to have a hotel."

Bee Cave residents John Coleman and Veronica Putney spoke in opposition to the requested variances, which would allow the project to proceed.

Coleman cited concerns of increased traffic as well as fears that the hotel will not fit into the "look and feel" of the Hill Country landscape.

Putney, a Bee Cave resident for more than three decades, urged council members to remain true to the city's master plan.

"We came here to get away from the city," Putney said. "I shudder to think how we're losing our integrity—that everyone who wants a variance can get one. ... Can't [Overstreet] make [a hotel] where he can keep with the restrictions the city has?"

Bee Cave City Council takes into consideration the recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission before giving final approval. The Council will need to approve not only the variances, but the final site plan as well.

Following the commission's approval of the variances, Overstreet said he held a series of meetings with neighborhoods surrounding the project during the past 90 days and found "overwhelming" support for the proposal. However, he said his costs will double if the project's building permits cannot be secured by October, and he is continuing talks with City of Lakeway officials for a possible alternate site.