Marble Falls OKs changes to Manzano Mile development agreement
Development Services Director Scarlet Moreno shows the Marble Falls City Council a map of a proposed development along Manzano Mile. The council later approved three amendments to a development agreement between the city and the developer. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey
The Marble Falls City Council recently approved a few amendments to a proposed 253-acre development on Manzano Mile, allowing for drive-thru commercial space, shortening driveway setbacks, and changing the ratio for lot sizes.
The original development agreement between the city and developer Rockspring was approved Feb. 4. With these new amendments, the project is one step closer to reality.
As proposed, the development would run along 1.8 miles of Manzano Mile from RR 1431 to Colt Elementary School. Current plans allow for single-family homes, townhomes, commercial lots, and multi-family spaces on largely undeveloped land on the east side of the road.
An exact number of homes has not been determined, but the development would include roughly 1,500 living unit equivalents’ worth of utilities. An LUE is the average amount of utilities needed to support a standard home with 3.5 occupants.
“We go through negotiations to ensure that the amendments comply with our code of ordinances and adopted plans we have for the city,” explained Marble Falls Development Services Director Scarlet Moreno to DailyTrib.com. “Allowing amendments ensures that the developer is bringing in products to meet the needs of the growing city.”
While no hard timeline for construction and completion has been shared, the next step in the development process is to get zoning approval before work gets underway.
Even with an agreement in place, the project and current plans are not 100 percent guaranteed.
“There is room for change based on what those changes are,” Moreno said. “It is a negotiation process with the city and determining whether (the development) meets the (Marble Falls) Development Code and aligns with the vision and plan outlined in our comprehensive plan.”
The council approved three amendments to the agreement at the recommendation of city staff during its regular meeting July 15.
Amendment 1
The development agreement, which previously restricted all drive-thru commercial space, has been amended to allow for a drive-thru as long as the facility is not a standalone building. This means a multi-tenant structure could have a drive-thru attached, similar to Starbucks at 301 Gateway North in Marble Falls, which is in the same building as the Shane Stewart State Farm Insurance office.
According to Rockspring Director of Development Randon McKee, the change was made to accommodate potential vendors that might not set up shop at a location that prohibits drive-thrus.
“We intend to have something that would be a local coffee shop or donut shop,” he said.
Originally, drive-thrus were excluded in the agreement to prevent a fast-food chain from occupying commercial space.
Amendment 2
The original agreement allowed for 35-foot garage and carport setbacks, but this was changed to 30-foot setbacks after the city and developer received consistent feedback from builders and engineers that 35-foot setbacks would not work with the pre-made designs of most tract homes.
“We believe that we are trying to meet the idea and intent of the city to keep it beautiful and keep emergency access, but we needed to make it accommodate the people who want to build here as well,” McKee explained.
The previous setback length would have allowed for more driveway space to help keep street parking to a minimum and give emergency vehicles better access.
According to Rockspring and the city’s Development Services, the Manzano Mile development will have homeowners’ association rules that prevent excessive street parking.
Amendment 3
The third major amendment to the development agreement was a change in the ratio of single-family home lot sizes, decreasing the number of smaller lots.
The agreement allows for 40-foot-, 45-foot-, and 50-foot-wide lots for single-family homes. In the original version, up to 33 percent of the lots could be a 40 feet wide; now, it is 29 percent.
According to McKee, this change more closely aligns with the city’s vision.
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Though I do not live in Marble Falls, I would like to share some insight regarding the 30 ft driveway from a homeowner perspective. The subdivision I live in has 30 ft driveways, and while a garage should be for car storage only, in reality most people cannot get 2 cars in their garage due to needing space to store other items (I.e. tool benches, bicycles, sports equipment, etc.) . At best they can get 1 car in the garage. If you are a 4 car family that means there will always be a car parked on the street. Maybe the developers need to look at resizing the lots in order to accommodate a longer driveway.