Dripping Springs transportation plan lays out roads developers could later build

A plan that recommends the construction of more arterial roads in Dripping Springs advanced a step closer to approval during an Oct. 12 planning and zoning commission meeting.

In response to residents’ concerns that some proposed roads in the plan’s maps would cut through people’s ranches or backyards, Chair Mim James said the plan lays out traffic needs, but exact paths are not set.

“This is still conceptual in nature, and what it’s saying is we want to be able to put a road approximately in this location to get people from point A to B,” James said.

City engineer Leslie Pollock said the city does not have the funds to build the roads mapped in the transportation plan. Instead, when developers buy land and propose master-planned communities, the city will ask the developers to build roads as specified by the plan.

“It’s a planning tool that sets the stage for the city to cause developers, when they buy property and want to develop it, to recognize the needs of the city,” James said.

During the public hearing, several speakers said they worried about Dripping Springs maintaining its small-town feel. Several City Council members including Mayor Bill Foulds attended.

James said the city has little control over development in its extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ, but the transportation plan gives the city leverage.

“The growth is coming, and we can’t just close the gate and say we’re closed,” James said. “It’s coming.”