The Parks and Recreation Board has given a proposed development its unanimous support based on the amount of parkland the builder has promised to provide on a nearly 500-acre site straddling Travis and Hays counties.
The development, Hays Commons, is currently seeking to create a municipal utility district (MUD) through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Because the proposed development sits partially within Austin’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, the city of Austin has the ability to negotiate certain development standards. The applicant, Milestone Community Builders, has also requested limited-purpose annexation for the development.
Thomas Rowlinson, a planner with the Parks and Recreation Department, told the board at its Aug. 26 meeting that the department supports the municipal utility district application because it meets superiority in terms of parkland dedication.
For the city to consent, Rowlinson said, “the development must demonstrate extraordinary community benefits in a number of city review disciples, including parkland dedication.”
On the latter point, Rowlinson said, the proposal exceeds current parkland dedication requirements, with 16 acres of public parkland, more than 35 acres of publicly accessible open space and nearly 4 acres of a public trail along Little Bear Creek, located at the southern edge of the site.
“As it is today, the site is mostly open, unimproved land and includes a number of environmentally sensitive features, mostly wetlands and recharge features with several of them located along Little Bear Creek,” Rowlinson said.
The overall development, which is situated over the Edwards Aquifer, proposes 621 residential units and nearly 14 acres of commercial space. City documents note the development would have a projected population of 2,188 residents.
City Council will eventually hold a public hearing on the proposal, following reviews by boards and commissions.
Photo by stickywikit, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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Municipal Utility Districts: A special-purpose district that provides public utilities. There are different MUDS for different neighborhoods.
Parks and Recreation Board: The city’s Parks and Recreation Board members deal with the acquisition, development, improvement, and maintenance of Austin’s parks and playgrounds.
