By Andy Sevilla

Out of concern for traffic safety, a divided Buda council once again delayed action on a rezoning request that could have allowed for a coffee shop to locate near the FM 967 and Cole Springs Road intersection.

“My biggest concern with changing this (zoning) is you’re making it where we have a very busy road and a very dangerous intersection, and essentially we will be allowing more and more cars at that intersection,” Buda Mayor Todd Ruge said at a Nov. 18 council meeting. “We’ve already had one death there and several wrecks. So for me, it’s more of a safety concern more than anything.”

The owner of a .772-acre tract of land on FM 967, just north of its intersection with Cole Springs Road, is looking to change the zoning of the property from Multifamily Residential (MFR) to Arterial/Commercial/Retail/Office (C2-R2).

At an Oct. 21 meeting, council members decided for the first time to table the rezoning request for lack of information. The elected officials were seeking clarity as to what would locate at the property should the rezoning change advance in order to properly gauge the impact and intensity to surrounding properties. 

The property owner’s consulting engineer, Andrew Dodson of Vickery and Associates in Austin, told council the owner is looking to bring a coffee shop to the location, though nothing was final.

At the Nov. 18 meeting, Dodson once again reiterated to council that the owner is planning to construct a 1,500 square-foot structure at the site and have a coffee shop locate there. However, Dodson also reminded council at that meeting that a contract securing a coffee shop was not in place. 

The matter was before council for a second time in less than a month because the applicant provided a concept site plan to illustrate for council how the property could be developed should it be rezoned to C2-R2, according to Planning Director Chance Sparks.

The concept site plan was only illustrative in nature, and was provided out of an effort to respond to previously voiced council concerns, according to city documents.

“Any use, whether it’s multifamily or commercial, is still going to put traffic there,” Dodson told council. “If the applicant doesn’t receive what we requested, we’re looking at options to put how many, you know, multifamily units can we fit within this site, which is still traffic.” 

Under the existing zoning designation, multifamily units could be constructed on the property. Dodson told council a multifamily development could produce twice as much traffic as the proposed coffee shop. He said it was estimated the coffee shop would produce about 130 car trips per day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., while each multifamily unit with two persons produce between six and seven car trips per day. 

Buda’s Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved the rezoning request, though some commissioners expressed concern for site distance, Sparks said. The property is situated along the upward curve along FM 967. However, the improvements to the roadway, which call for two travel lanes with a center turn lane and shoulders, would remove a portion of the hill thereby providing an additional 200 feet of sight distance. 

“Safety is a concern,” Dodson said. “We’ve shoved the building towards the back of the lot to provide as much site distance as possible.”

Still, too many unknowns remain for council member Wiley Hopkins.

“Until (FM) 967 is really completed, which is probably considerably further down the road, we don’t know how that’s going to impact that particular site,” Hopkins said. “Safety is a big issue for me… and anything that goes in there is going to add to the traffic issue, and we already know the history there.”

In a 4-3 vote, council members again tabled the matter indefinitely. Council members George Hahn, Jose Montoya and Angela Kennedy voted against the tabling.

“It’s not about whether what lies in the future, but only changing the zoning at this particular juncture,” Montoya said. “And having the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approve the change I can support the recommended C2-R2.”

For now, like Dodson said, the property owner could explore multifamily development options, which are allowed under its existing zoning designation. Or the matter could be brought back to council at a later date presumably with additional information to appease the officials concerns. 

FM 967 roadway improvements are expected to be finalized next year, according to Stanley Fees, city engineer.