Zoning commission recommends rezoning of Circle C Tract 110 after residents raise safety and environment concerns

The Zoning and Planning Commission on May 5 unanimously recommended that City Council approve amendments to the conditional overlay for Circle C Tract 110 (case C1420250064), a 67-acre undeveloped portion of the larger Tract 110 along southbound MoPac.

Nancy Estrada, a planner with Austin Planning, told commissioners the request would modify zoning conditions to permit multifamily residential on what staff described as an appropriate corridor for higher density. "The applicant is proposing to develop the property with a multi-family residential use," Estrada said during her presentation, and staff recommended the change while retaining existing buffers and setbacks.

Applicant representative Amanda Stewart (Renner Group) told the commission the request does not change the property's allowable impervious cover or overall entitlements but changes the mix of uses. "This project is not a change in intensity. It is not a change in what can be built on the property today from a size perspective," Stewart said, noting the development would remain subject to the 2002 setbacks and a 16.38-acre impervious-cover limit on the 190-acre parcel.

Residents who live near Dahlgren Avenue and Kiker Elementary urged postponement and stronger protections. Lisa Lyons, speaking for a contingent of neighbors, said the 2002 settlement and development agreement that shaped Circle C should not be overridden without a public amendment and full technical review. "We urge the Commission to postpone until the amendment is executed and publicly available," Lyons said, citing concerns about traffic, school safety and the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone.

Commissioners questioned staff and the applicant about the timing of education and neighborhood traffic analyses. Estrada said the city reaches out to the Austin Independent School District for an Educational Impact Statement and that more detailed traffic and safety work typically occurs at the site-plan phase. Transportation staff described a separate process for neighborhood traffic analysis and said a full Transportation Impact Analysis is triggered when projected trip generation crosses code thresholds.

Before voting, commissioners added a friendly amendment to the staff recommendation to tighten the conditional overlay: prohibit certain uses (personal storage, automotive sales/vehicle storage and pawn shops) and memorialize limits on impervious cover (16.38 acres), the number of multifamily units (cap of 1,000 units as proposed by the applicant), and retail square footage (10,000 sq ft). The motion passed 8-0.

The commission's action is a recommendation to City Council; council will consider the rezoning and the related proposed amendment to the development agreement on the same agenda in July. If Council approves zoning, site-plan reviews, transportation mitigations and any required environmental or school-safety studies will follow. "This is the first step in a process," Chair Hank Smith said. "You will have further opportunities to review and comment at council and at site plan."