The item on the agenda to be decided was actually whether the 47-acre property should be rezoned from agriculture to warehouse use. But the neighboring homeowners, 25 of whom stood up to speak against the idea (no one other than the developer spoke in favor of it), deftly changed the subject of the discussion to the proposed truck stop and the person who bungled the presentation for the developers (PGI, which owns the property, couldn’t have found a worse spokesperson if they had held auditions) only added fuel to the fire.
The victory for those who oppose the truck stop, most of whom live in the Blanco Vista subdivision on the other side of Yarrington, which, somewhat unfortunately for them, is in San Marcos, will be short-lived however, By this time next week, that land will be zoned for warehouse use. The Kyle City Council will make sure of that at its meeting next Tuesday by also voting, somewhat ironically, 5-2 in favor of the zoning change.
The argument for locating a truck stop at that location, an argument I don’t necessarily agree with, revolves around the planned Austin-to-Houston Expressway. As strange as it seems, especially when you consider how much Texas spends on highways and how proud state officials are of the highway system in Texas, there is no expressway between the capital of Texas and the state’s largest city. But one is in the works. The missing link in that expressway is the highway — which I envision will turn out to be a 45-type tollroad — between I-35 and I-10. The plan is to construct that link starting at the intersection of Yarrington and I-35, so traffic from Austin will head south on I-35, exit Yarrington and then zip southeast across the presumed tollroad to I-10 and on to Houston without ever encountering a single traffic light. It’s that "exit Yarrington" part that has the developers so excited, especially as they consider all the 18-wheelers that will be using that connection for a quicker trip to Houston.
Here are the problems I have with that plan, however. First, I think the planners are drastically over-estimating the amount of truck traffic between Austin and Houston. I make that drive whenever I go to the vacation beach house I love spend time at in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. I am never overwhelmed by truck traffic between here and Houston, not like I am when I make the trip to Dallas on that section of the NAFTA Highway (i.e., I-35) between here and Dallas.
Here’s the second problem I have with it. In order for the route to be a true expressway, the interchanges can’t be at-grade. To keep the traffic flowing would require an overpass exit, similar to the one at I-35 and the 45 tollroad in Buda, connecting I-35 to the I-10 connecting road and that overpass, by definition, will bypass a truck stop at Yarrington and I-35.In fact, some of the propety involved in this zoning request might be needed for construction of the interchange. It would make far more sense to me to locate the truck stop at the first available exit on that new tollroad.
But, what the hell do I know?
Then there's the fact that those motorists originating north of Austin wishing to use the I-10 Connector will get to it by using the 130 Tollroad to bypass Austin and, in the process, bypassing the Yarrington Road interchange. In fact, it would make far more sense to me to build a truck stop at the intersection of 130 and the I-10 Connector.
But, what the hell do I know.
And those beginning their trek from closer to Central or even South Austin are not going to feel the overwhelming need to make a stop a scant 20 minutes or less into their journey unless they felt the compelling need to shell out the bucks for some skanky sex.
So the other bad news for those living in the area, who voiced opposition to the truck stop because, among other concerns, of all the additional traffic it would attract, is not only will the new zoning be in place by this time next week but sometime soon that interchange is going to see far more traffic than these well-meaning folks ever imagined. That new feeder road is not only going to provide an Austin-to-Houston expressway, but a San Marcos-to-Houston expressway as well and I envision a large number of college students using that route.
It's also going to provide a convenient bypass of congested Austin for all those motoring to Houston from Johnson City, Fredericksburg and points west. Soon they will be able to exit U.S. 290 on the new-and-improved Highway 150 which will feed directly into the I-10 Connector at Yarrington, adding significantly more traffic to the Blanco Vista neighborhood.
Here, however, is what I find so maddening about this entire process. I know very little about PGI Investment, LLC, except to say I have never, ever, in my 15 years of direct involvement in municipal planning witnessed a company perform this abysmally in the area of community relations. I have yet to find even a shred of evidence to indicate that anyone connected with PGI has, at any time, made a single effort to reach out to members of the surrounding community with the goal of reaching a jointly agreeable compromise solution to this argument. Instead, they offer up a spokesperson who comes to last night’s Planning & Zoning Commission and, instead of discussing the zoning, tells everyone in the room "Our primary goal is to build a truck stop on that property." He said the truck stop might not consume the entire 47 acres, but he said it would be "significant." That’s tantamount to telling these families "I’m going to slightly reduce the size of the pit bull that will tear your children to shreds." Talk about delivering exactly the wrong message!
Not only that, this individual had absolutely no idea what was happening in the very city in which he wants to locate his truck stop. He was acting like he was doing the city this huge favor by also promising to construct on the property warehouse/offices, which he claims Kyle so desperately needs and wants. This clown obviously had absolutely no idea whatsoever that both P&Z and the City Council recently approved a zoning change for a business park development on Goforth Road between Dacy Lane and Lehman High School that would consist entirely of these kinds of warehouse/office spaces in a more suitable location — an area already surrounded by other businesses and away from the interstate.
I am also somewhat saddened that no on one the Planning & Zoning Commission took a leadership role in the debate. I wish one of them had (1) instructed the PGI spokesperson to set up a series of meetings between PGI’s planners and representatives of the nearby neighborhoods and (2) instructed those folks from Blanco Vista to form a five to seven-person committee, whose members would be willing to engage in results-oriented conversations (i.e., who would be willing to compromise) to begin discussions that would lead to a solution that both sides could live with, if not be overwhelmingly happy with.
History has proved what diplomacy can accomplish. If, at the height of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union could agree on an arms reduction treaty, you would think one subdivision in San Marcos could reach some sort of compromise agreement with a company that wants to develop in Kyle.
One other thing filled me with a sense of melancholia as well. This morning I opened my Austin American-Statesman and the lead story on the front page was the announcement of a new development on 14 acres located in the heart of downtown Austin, a development that, according to the paper, "could include a hotel, housing, restaurants, shops and a medical office building." And I thought to myself, "Gee, I wish the first thing all those motorists traveling north out of San Marcos on I-35 saw, right after they drove by the nice tombstone sign that welcomed them to Kyle, was a development that ‘could include a hotel, housing, restaurants, shops and a medical office building’ instead of an ugly truck stop because that would present such a more favorable first impression of the city I have chosen to call home. Yes, I know that, not only does Kyle not have any zoning ordinances that would allow for a mixed-use development, it also lacks the sophistication to even contemplate such a development. But that doesn’t stop me from dreaming.
And wishing.
And hoping.
In other action last night, the Planning & Zoning Commission:
- Approved a conditional use permit for Sonic Dive-In to construct a 1,411-square-foot restaurant on Ranch Road 150 next to the PAWS Animal Shelter.
- Okayed the construction of an all-metal, non masonry 4,950-square-foot building that Kyle Chapman Motor Sales, which lists Buda as its official address, can use as the headquarters for its used car sales.
- Recommended the City Council approve a request for a variance from the ordinance that requires all lots in rural subdivisions have a minimum width of 130 feet at their front property line requested by Noe and Maria Briseno of 114 Sunrise Circle, a rather isolated cul-de-sac north of Beebee Road; and then immediately after that recommendied the council deny an identical request from Sylvia Vera on property located at the southwest corner of Highway 2001 (Niederwald Strasse Road) and Rolling Hills Drive. Go figure. The vote on both was 6-1 with commissioner Dex Ellison voting against the first recommendation and commissioner Timothy Kay casting the only vote in favor of recommending the second.
I think the everyone involved except for the developer is willing to compromise. I would love to see the area developed into something all Kyle / San Marcos could use.
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