*****Calendar*****
*****Mountain Star Lodge*****
Get Ready! There was a big hullabaloo about the Mountain Star Lodge in bee Cave on a list that Austin was looking at to purchase and move homeless to. Turns out the consultant they hired didn't look very close and failed to see it was not in Austin (that's their story anyway). That property has been pulled off the list. KXAN picked it up and made a big deal of it, here's a link - not so big deal when is came off the list. Fake news? That being said, we are in the cross hairs - Lakeway has no ordinances prohibiting the behavior that is going on in Austin. Maybe we need a committee to study that.
*****Transportation Meeting*****
I attended the "Transportation Meeting" last Tuesday evening - I suspect somewhere less than a hundred people went through. No presentation but nice pretty maps of what is proposed for study. I'll talk about a few of the items, there were no cost estimates given for any of the items.
One of the thoughts is the road from the end of Flint Rock Road that would entail building a new section to Bee Creek Rd. In the County, would entail cooperation between county and city to BUY the property (or condemn it) engineer it, build a new road. My guess costs would be 10-20 million dollars. That would also put even more traffic on Serene Hills and the new Flintrock Road - neither were designed for that. If you fixed the old part of Serene Hills, that is also in the county and The Village of the Hills. The new Serene Hills would also have to be enlarged. By the time Right of Way (ROW) was acquired and road was enlarged (all this has to work together) you're looking at almost double the price - you can bet the Village is not interested and the county would be a heavy lift. Daugherty tried to improve the old part of Serene Hills before the edition was built, had the money, and gave up because of all the push back and re-built Bee Creek road at Hwy 71 with the funds he had identified.
Another interesting concept was a new road from the end of Clubhouse that would connect up to Clara Van. The people living in that area objected strenuously to that idea because of the road size and new traffic it would cause - but many of the people in that area want a new connection to the new "Main" street from Crestview and Rolling Green. Neither is a good idea since both feeder roads were not designed to carry that type of traffic.
Then, of course, the infamous "Main Street". Initially that was proposed by the developer with his "City Center" concept. He was willing to pay for a 4 lane mostly divided "Main Street" that would also had a connection to Lohmans Spur and possibly even a third connection. Although his last proposal was too dense, ZAPCO shut down further negotiation by denying that proposal instead of tabling it as the developer requested. That project has now moved to a Residential development that includes R1* and R3 proposals. Pretty much what the vocal citizens wanted - it does not include the previous road nor the connection to Main. Now the city will have to do that (depending on Stratus) in full at a cost of 5-10 million. The good news is they have done away some of the wetland regulations and now instead of a bridge they can use culverts.
Food for thought - FIRST a consultant was hired for about $150K to look at these proposals - THEN a committee was formed. Seems backwards to me, shouldn't the committee look at consultants and provide the things to look at? The City Engineer is a smart guy, did they even ask him about the feasibility of these proposals? Not only that, there seems to be a big push to get a bond on the May election to fund some of these proposals - now understand, there will be a bond proposal to fund the $5M promised for the 620 project. If another bond is proposed, it MUST be separate from that bond - not combined.
*****ZAPCO*****
Meeting is this Wednesday, November 6 at 9:15 a.m. Here's the agenda / packet.
There's a lot on their plat this week. The Future Land Use Map Change for 1931 Lohmans Crossing that was tabled until the Comprehensive Plan Committee maybe made changes that could maybe change the law is on the agenda again for a decision.
7) Depending on the outcome, item 7 is a request to change the zoning to R-1* and R-3.
8,9) Cherry Knoll LLC is wanting to rezone 23 acres of land to R-8 (multifamily) read apartments at 15617 Flintrock Road. The owners are the same folks that are suing the city after signing a contract not to sue the city. Do we need apartments across the street from the entrance to Flintrock Falls? Is there a traffic concern? More to come at ZAPCO!
10) Annexation of some land East of Crosswing Dr. for GUI.
11,12) Cut and fill variance request in the Highlands North of the traffic circle.
13) Short Term Rental request at 111 Javelin Dr.
14-17) Sign requests.
It will be a long day - and while they are meeting I will be in a meeting with attorneys to prep me for a deposition on the Cherry Knoll LLC case. Fun day.
*****Area Construction*****
Ladies of Charity is building a new facility located just East of the new Springhill Suites in the Medical District. They are moving dirt at the front end of the construction process. Click for a larger view.
There are new business offices that are being built off of Wild Cherry - these are behind the BSW Hospital and are accessed off of Wild Cherry and Peak Lookout Dr. |
| Lake Travis Eye Center |
The new location of Lake Travis Eye Center! Great folks and the best eye care I've ever found. Here's a link to their web page.
And just for fun, here's a picture of Mansfield Dam
 |
| Mansfield Dam, November 1, 2019 |
That's all for now. Still having some issues with the email list - if your not seeing the email and think you should be on the list, send me an email and I'll check it out. I think some are being directed into "spam" folders. If you think a friend would enjoy the blog information, please forward it to them!
Thanks again - see you in the neighborhood. I'll be the Election Judge at Randalls in Lakeway Tuesday, come see me and don't forget to vote!
Joe Bain
No comments:
Post a Comment