A tract of land at 3721 Ben Garza Lane—an area that has been in dispute for several years— may be seeing future development after Austin City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance Aug. 22 for variances on the land. Councilwomen Kathie Tovo and Laura Morrison voted against the variance.

Councilman Bill Spelman said he supported the changes in the Save Our Springs ordinance because he believed the city would gain better water quality from the change.

"I will vote to amend SOS if I am persuaded that an amendment will improve the quality of water and the amount of water that goes into the aquifer, and I'm persuaded that in this particular case that is true for this proposal." Spelman said.

The 34.6-acre piece of land is expected to include mixed-use development and parking if the variance is ultimately approved.

The owner asked for a variance in the ordinance to grant about 48 percent impervious cover for the land, or about 16.7 acres. About half of the land is subject to the Save Our Springs ordinance that limits development to 15 percent impervious cover. Under current code and through court settlements, the owner is entitled to 11.2 acres of impervious cover.

Impervious cover is material such as concrete that does not allow water to permeate into the ground. The SOS ordinance establishes restrictions in the Barton Springs Zone, including protection of Barton and other creeks in the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone.

The landowner also asked for the ability to build in a restricted area on the property.

Roy Waley, vice chairman of the Austin chapter of the Sierra Club, said his organization did not support the variances because of the environmental effects the developments could have.

"We're talking about putting water with oil, grease and other pollutants right on top of the recharge area that goes directly into our aquifer and directly into our springs," Waley said.

Waley did acknowledge that the variance proposal had some good merits, but those items were not enough to garner the organization's support.

In exchange for the variances, the landowner offered to provide an easement for the Violet Crown Trail, $25,000 to build a trailhead for the trail and a reduction in overall impervious cover by about 1.6 acres if the owner decides to build in a protected area of the property. Another benefit offered for the variance was providing water quality treatment for the entire tract of land instead of only half of it.

Chuck Lesniak, environmental officer with the city's Watershed Protection Department, said staff recommended granting the variances for various reasons including the benefits of access to land to build the trail, stormwater treatment and settling a long-running dispute over the property.

"We've been arguing over this property, the city and the Garza family, for [more than] 20 years, so this puts that to rest," Lesniak said.