Autism center, housing development will now be considered together
By CASSIE MCKEE
Four Points News
MileStone Community Builders, the developer at the center of a controversial zoning dispute in River Place, has submitted an amended zoning application for the 82-acre tract, forcing the case to go back to the Zoning and Platting Commission for reconsideration. The date for the ZAP hearing has not been set yet.
One of the biggest changes is that instead of dividing the land into two separate zoning cases — one for a proposed autism center and the other for a MileStone housing development at the end of Milky Way Drive — and considering the requests separately, the two cases will now be combined into one.
A letter from a MileStone representative was sent on April 27 to Greg Guernsey, director of the planning and zoning department for the city of Austin, notifying the city of MileStone’s intent to modify its application. The zoning case was scheduled to go before the Austin City Council on May 4 for its first public hearing but will now be postponed so that the case can go before ZAP.
“As has been repeated throughout the entire process of this case, the development proposal for each tract is inextricably tied to the other and both portions of the overall development plan rely on the other as a cohesive development plan in order to provide a successful project,” the letter states. “In the end, approving a rezoning on only one portion of the development would not bring the overall project to fruition with the compromises and community benefits that are, in essence, a package to ensure a viable planned project.”