By Macy Hurwitz

Friday, 18 November 2011

Residents lined the Cedar Park City Council’s chambers and spilled out into the hallway at the council’s Nov. 17 meeting.

Dozens of residents gathered at the Cedar Park City Council’s meeting Nov. 17 to voice their opinions on a zoning change request.

Property owner Samir Desai had applied to rezone a four-acre lot at the southeast corner of West Park Street and Lakeline Boulevard from Single Family-Large Lot to Local Retail with a conditional overlay.

The Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-2 to approve the zoning with the conditional overlay at its Oct. 18 meeting.

“After the P Z meeting, I was a bit surprised that there were some neighbors that had concerns I was not aware of,” Desai said. “After that meeting I made sure I met with them and addressed their concerns.”

The conditional overlay would limit the building’s height to 35 feet, limit hours of operation to between 7 a.m.–10 p.m., and ban certain uses for the site, such as for ATMs, automobile parts stores, convenience stores, gas stations, liquor stores and restaurants.

“There was concern about the survey that was submitted along with the application,” P Z Commissioner Jon Lux said. “It asked, ‘What would you like there?’ not ‘Would you like single-family or local retail?'”

Lux voted against the zoning change. He was not alone in his objection to the survey.

Along with several residents, one of whom called the survey “deceptive,” Councilman Mitch Fuller said he was troubled by the survey.

The residents who crowded the chambers enumerated a list of aspects to the zoning change that were problematic to them. Residents of the neighborhood behind the lot said they did not want an opening in a fence on the back of the property to connect to the neighborhood, and expressed concerns about traffic, smells, drainage, noise and light pollution. 

“Even with this conditional overlay, there are still a lot of businesses that could go on this property that are completely inappropriate with this neighborhood,” resident Barry Taylor said.

One resident spoke in favor of the change. Gary Jones, a civil engineer in the Austin area, said he lives close to the property and he wants to see more retail along the corridor.

“Wouldn’t it be great to capture all that traffic that’s going down Lakeline to go to Jonestown and Lago Vista and capture all that tax revenue in the City of Cedar Park?” he asked.

This was the first reading and public hearing on the item, so the council did not take action on it. Several council members said they were inclined to look at a zoning category for the lot that would allow for a business that would draw less traffic.

Councilman Matt Powell thanked the residents who spoke against the change for avoiding heated rhetoric and for understanding the property can not stay green space forever.

“It’s going to be something unless you buy it,” Powell said. 

The council will hold a second reading and possibly act on the item at its Dec. 8 meeting.

The neighborhood filed a protest petition with the city, meaning more than 40 percent of landowners within 200 feet of the proposed zoning change signed it. The council must approve the zoning request by a super majority, or by a minimum of six of seven members voting in favor.

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