By Brittany Anderson
BUDA — Deliberations around the development agreement for Persimmon, the 775-acre development proposed on the Bailey and Armbruster tracts off FM 967, have seemingly come to a halt, for now.
The Buda City Council approved 6-0 to table the proposed agreement pending further discussion during its regular meeting on Oct. 18. Council member Monica Davidson was not present due to an excused absence.
The vote came after the council unanimously approved a term sheet with a list of ten terms during the Sept. 20 council meeting. The sheet was to be used by developer MileStone to craft the final agreement. The terms consider eminent domain, transportation, commercial lots, residential lots, tree mitigation, parkland dedication, a pilot prairie build program, annexation, Austin extraterritorial jurisdiction requirements and an aquifer geological report.
During the Oct. 18 meeting, MileStone CEO Garrett Martin said that they were able to fully meet all but three of the terms:
• The term sheet asked MileStone to eliminate multifamily rental uses and significantly increase lot sizes. MileStone has made some lot size increases but has not been able to meet the specific requirement outlined by the city. “The economy has changed pretty dramatically since we first started this conversation. … It’s had a dramatic impact on housing,” Martin explained.
• The term sheet asked MileStone to fully comply with the tree preservation requirements in the ordinance. Martin said that MileStone has demonstrated an “incredible commitment” on the Bailey tract to get to full compliance, but it will take six months to produce information on the Armbruster tract to do so.
• The term sheet asked to increase commercial and civic land uses, thus reducing residential uses. Martin said there are limitations on how much land MileStone can use in the project, and the request for additional commercial comes with more traffic concerns. However, MileStone agreed to 40 acres following the city’s request for 60.
“We’ve done our very best to meet you, partially meet you in some cases, fully meet you in most cases,” Martin said, noting that they have held many community meetings over the last few months to educate the public. “There is nothing more to give. We are at an unfortunate crossroads. … We’ve stretched as far as we can comfortably do economically, because we want to make this vision and plan work and deliver on the benefits of the project.”
The caveat to the development is that if it is not approved by the city of Buda, it will be built under Hays County rules and regulations which are less stringent. Certain commitments made by MileStone would go away, such as an FM 1626 connector and the addition of multi-family lots.
With this information, some residents have changed their tune, saying that they would rather it be built through the city to get all of the commitments MileStone is proposing while encouraging the city to hold MileStone accountable to these commitments. However, others continue to push back.
Nearly a dozen residents continued to speak on their concerns with the development during the public testimony portion of the meeting, addressing things like water, lot sizes, trees and traffic. Some, including council members, have acknowledged that aspects of the project have improved with the thorough discussion that has taken place. But ultimately, MileStone’s inability to meet some of the crucial terms outlined in the term sheet made the council hesitant to approve the agreement.
“We’re still a ways off from my chair. Bailey, we have details. We have analytics. Armbruster? We just have a general application,” council member Evan Smith said. “I’m suffering from lack of data and further analytics on the other half. … I’m missing details.”
“I go back to something the mayor said a long time ago and the way he operates: ‘I will always work to get the best deal for Buda,’” Mayor Pro Tem Evan Ture said. “We’re always looking for the best deal for Buda, and we put that in the term sheet. And if the project can’t get done like that, I mean, one of the [residents]up here said maybe you need to sell it to somebody that would develop more like what we’re asking for.”
The next Buda City Council meeting will take place on Nov. 1, although it is not clear if the development agreement will be brought up again at this meeting.
