LCRA board approves one-year moratorium on community marinas
The community marina at Lake Front Condos on Highcrest Drive in Granite Shoals could be adversely affected by individual boat docks built for homes in the proposed Granite Pointe subdivision. The planned subdivision is located at the entrance to a cove on Lake LBJ. Staff photo by Suzanne Freeman
The Lower Colorado River Authority Board of Directors approved a moratorium on new and amendment applications for community marinas in the Highland Lakes during its regular board meeting Wednesday, Aug. 17, in Austin. The moratorium was supported by two Granite Shoals residents who spoke on the issue.
“We are seeing bigger boats and bigger boat docks, and it’s kind of crazy,” said Breeanna Malik of Granite Shoals. “They are becoming monstrosities on the lake.”
The moratorium applies to 13 community marinas in the Highland Lakes, all of which require permits as per the Highland Lakes Marina Ordinance.
“This temporary moratorium applies to community marinas and does not impact applications for any other type of new marina facility, including commercial and residential marinas,” Lauren Graber, director of Strategic Water Initiatives, told the board during her presentation.
The moratorium could be lifted before the 12-month deadline if staff develop changes to the marina ordinance before that time.
Linda Larson, who lives in the same condominium complex in Granite Shoals as Malik, also spoke in favor of the moratorium.
“Let’s take a timeout to look at all the development that’s happening,” she said. “Our little cove in Granite Shoals cannot support the addition of a new marina.”
Larson was referring to a proposed marina and subdivision at the entrance to a cove between Tropical Hideaway and Web Isle Drive in Granite Shoals. The Granite Pointe development would include three-story homes, condominiums, retail space, and a marina. Zoning changes have been approved when requested over the past two years by the Granite Shoals City Council despite some community pushback to the high-dollar development.
Once the marina and the individual docks for lakefront homes are built, only a small area will be left for boats in the cove to travel along to their own docking places, Larson and Malik each said.
“These docks stick out 25 feet at a minimum,” Malik said. “You take 25 feet times 10 and you’re talking about a 4,000-square-foot chunk out of our lake. These community docks are big footprints.”
The moratorium passed unanimously.
IN OTHER BUSINESS
Bhe board also extended by 10 years a water contract with the Lakecliff Dream on Lake Travis subdivision for 642 acre-feet of water a year. The water will be used to irrigate landscapes, common areas, and an 18-hole course in the 250-acre community in Spicewood.
