The Travis County Commissioners Court on Tuesday passed a motion approving an initial phase of the Travis Club development, a 1,047-acre property – featuring golf course lots, a marina and more than 500 housing units – that is slated for construction at the intersection of Bee Creek Road and Thurman Bend Drive. This was despite appeals from community members who took to the Travis County Commissioners Court to voice concerns with the project.
In July 2022, the court denied developers the go-ahead for construction pending a traffic analysis – one of the issues that was brought up by community members on Tuesday.
“We’ve expressed concerns about the traffic impact analysis both through expert testimony, which has been provided to you in written form, and from letters that have been provided over the last seven or so months,” said Ken Bradford, one of the neighbors of the development. “None of which have been answered to date.”
Bradford said the main concern was that there is a single entrance to the entire development.
“We have 500 homes with all the associated traffic coming out of a single entrance on a two-lane road that connects to another two-lane road that won’t be improved until 2045,” Bradford said.
David Armbrust, a representative for the developer, mentioned that the court had approved the development last year pending the results of a traffic analysis.
“The county staff has approved the (traffic impact analysis),” Armbrust said. “We’re here today asking for approval of the final plat. We’re not asking for any variances, but we respectfully request your approval today.”
Another community member, Linda Pollock, said she was incensed with the recommendations and the conclusions of the “developers’ traffic impact study,” which found the volume of projected traffic to be “sufficiently low” and “unlikely to cause complications.”
“Traffic congestion on Thurman Bend created by the development will hinder people’s ability to get out safely and in a timely manner,” Pollock said. “Should there be some kind of emergency or catastrophic event, Thurman Bend is the only road out.”
Commissioner Brigid Shea said the county had limited power to do anything to stop the development.
“We are handcuffed. Legislature has absolutely limited the ability of counties to provide better protections,” Shea said. “One of the few things we can do is require more than one way in and out,” adding that the developer had met that criteria.
County Judge Andy Brown addressed the concerns some community members had over water scarcity in the area with regard to the development.
“I think we’re familiar with water issues and have feelings about how we’d like to regulate things that frankly the state doesn’t let us regulate,” said Brown, referring to his conversations with other county judges across the state. “We don’t have in Texas the right to regulate enough. It sounds like the developer has done everything they need to do in identifying a water source from the mud.”
Photo made available through a Creative Commons license.
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Travis County Commissioners Court: The legislative body for Travis County. It includes representatives from the four Travis County Precincts, as well as the County Judge. The County Judge serves as the chair of the Court.
