The two sites combined equal 82 acres which are owned by Berta Bradley.
By LYNETTE HAALAND
Four Points News
In two zoning cases, Austin’s Zoning and Platting Commission last week voted in favor of the rezoning request for the Autism Trust’s 40-acre site in River Place, and against the MileStone Community Builders request for zoning that would allow them to build a higher density of homes on the adjacent 42-acre site.
“We are disappointed with the vote. This definitely puts the future of the Autism Center Austin in jeopardy,” MileStone Community Builders said in a statement. “We are going to work hard to find a solution so we can build homes families can afford and a desperately needed center for adults with autism.”
MileStone requested a SF-2 zoning to build 82 homes, each worth between $700,000 to $900,000, on 42 acres, to be sold by longtime land owner Berta Bradley.
But on Feb. 21, the Zoning and Platting Commission voted 6-4 to approve the city staff recommendation for SF-1 conditional overlay zoning on the 42-acre site with a minimum lot size of 30,000-square-feet.
For perspective, the lot size of 30,000-square-feet (or the equivalent of nearly 2/3 the size of a football field for each home) exceeds the standard minimum lot size for SF-1 zoning, which is 10,000-square-feet.
Ted Gaunt, who lives on Milky Way Drive which is adjacent to the proposed MileStone housing site, said that the zoning commission sent a “clear signal” to accept the staff recommendation and neighborhood position.
“These conditions grant SF-1 conditional overlay which effectively limits the site to about 45 homes,” Gaunt said. “This is about 20 more than we want, but as a concession, it is a reasonable middle ground.”
“We are not telling MileStone what size homes to build, or how to price them – just simply looking to be smart and balanced about the number of homes in this last-build location in River Place,” Gaunt added.
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