Council hears residents’ safety concerns and moves to deny Steel Creek Unit 9 plat

The Cibolo City Council spent a sizable portion of its May 26 meeting debating the final plat for Steel Creek Unit 9 after residents and several councilmembers questioned whether the subdivision has adequate public access and flood protections.

Several residents who live in adjacent and affected neighborhoods told the council they have been repeatedly cut off by flood‑prone low‑water crossings and lack a reliable second way out. Emma Hubard, a Still Creek resident who said the issue was brought to her attention at Planning and Zoning, showed maps of multiple waterways and a FEMA 100‑year floodplain and warned that “because this is a 100‑year flood plane … there’s going to have to be a bridge.” Andrea Romero, a registered nurse, said the repeated closures have prevented her from reaching hospice patients and from returning home to her child, calling the single ingress “a very large problem.”

Staff recommended approval, describing the plat as administratively complete and noting letters of utility and service certifications. Mr. Vasquez, planning staff, told council the final plat proposes 36 single‑family lots and that the city engineer reviewed the traffic impact analysis (TIA) and stormwater plan. Planning and Zoning, however, had voted 5–2 to recommend denial based on the TIA and stormwater concerns.

A councilmember opposing the plat tied those engineering questions to life‑safety standards in the city’s unified development code, saying, “I do not support the approval of Steel Creek Unit 9 in its current form,” and listing unresolved questions about whether the phase has a functioning second public access, whether the TIA assumed the future Tally Road connection, and whether the fire marshal has approved any temporary single‑access condition.

Becky Carroll, a Pape‑Dawson Engineers representative for Continental Homes of Texas LP, told council the developer has submitted an amendment to the public improvements agreement to allow the Lance Crossing/Tally Road connection and that Town Creek Way and Knight’s Crossing provide routes to SH‑1103. Carroll also said the specific flooding residents described is upstream of Unit 9 and not directly caused by the unit’s construction.

A motion to deny the final plat was made and seconded on the council floor; the public minutes record the motion being put but do not include a recorded roll‑call vote in the transcripted record provided. Council discussion directed staff and the developer to resolve outstanding PIA and TIA issues and to provide clear documentation from the city engineer and fire marshal before the council acts further.

Next steps: Council asked staff to produce written findings if the council formalizes a denial, and staff said it will work with the developer on a PIA amendment and coordinate required engineering clarifications.