Granite Shoals residents voice concerns about development on Lake LBJ
Granite Shoals residents voiced concerns about the Granite Pointe development during the City Council's regular meeting May 11. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
Some Granite Shoals residents don’t like the proposed Granite Pointe development, and they let the City Council know their feelings during its regular meeting Tuesday, May 11.
“There’s been a lack of transparency from day one,” resident Stephen Davis said during a public hearing on the development’s zoning change request. “This has been pushed before us. It’s a big mistake. Density will cause a problem for us, and we’re all concerned.”
Granite Pointe is located at the end of High Crest Drive on Lake LBJ and is being built by developer John Corcorran. The development would include three-story homes, condominiums, retail space, and a marina. The developer requested a zoning change for the affected area, which the council granted by a 6-0 vote during the Tuesday meeting. Mayor Will Skinner was not present and did not vote.
“(The zoning change) allows him to build multi-use structures and increase the height of residential homes and to change the setback requirements and other things that regular zoning didn’t address,” City Manager Jeff Looney said Wednesday, May 12.
Residents voiced concerns that zoning was changed before the developer unveiled clearcut plans for the entire project. They also cited an increase in traffic, noise, and stench from a sewer plant that services that part of the city as well as the impact more residents in the area will have on that part of Lake LBJ.
The public hearing on the zone request lasted 2½ hours.
“The developer has listed a series of things I don’t think will fit,” resident Rob Larsen said.
Another issue was the height of structures.
The planned development zoning allows structures to go as high as 48 feet, which would allow for three-story homes, something that, until May 11, wasn’t allowed in Granite Shoals. Residents had urged councilors to zone the area Residential 1, which limits structures to 28 feet.
In an effort to address traffic concerns, city officials have asked the developer to build roads at 40 feet wide instead of the usual 20 feet.
In regard to the sewer plant, which is privately owned by Aqua Texas, the developer plans to pay the firm $80,000 to help improve the facility’s infrastructure. Granite Point project engineer Ivalu Rose told councilors that Aqua Texas informed her and the group that it plans to include funds in its 2022 fiscal budget to replace the existing plant.
“What we’re proposing is to make this a safer development and increase the size of the water lines and the roads,” said John Kelly, the developer’s attorney. “(The city) can’t control the sewer, and we can’t control the sewer. We can contribute cash in tap fees to contribute to the system. That will resolve the issue of smell and noise. (Developer John Corcorran) plans to live in the subdivision. I don’t think he wants it stinky.”
Rose added that developers have been working on this project since October and have met with representatives of the city, Aqua Texas, the Lower Colorado River Authority, and the Pedernales Electric Cooperative.
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Strange how they whine, anybody else coming into the area will cause an “increase in traffic, noise, and stench from a sewer plant that services that part of the city as well as the impact more residents in the area will have on that part of Lake LBJ” but it was okay for them to move in or build and NOT cause any of these problems.
If you want to control what happens on a piece f land, BUY it.