Zoning and Platting to hear cases on 82 acres in River Place

Milestone Community Builders is requesting a zoning change for this section of River Place to build a new residential housing development. River Place residents want the zoning to reflect safety and traffic issues, and neighborhood design.

Hearing set for Feb . 21 after 9 postponements


By CASSIE MCKEE
Four Points News

A hearing by the Austin Zoning and Platting Commission to consider a rezoning request for two parcels of land at the end of Milky Way Drive in River Place has been rescheduled to Feb. 21.

It is the ninth postponement for the zoning request, which was originally filed more than a year and a half ago by Milestone Community Builders, the applicant that wants to build a new residential housing development on one plat of land, and The Autism Trust, which is occupying the other plat.

Milestone is requesting an SF2 zoning to build more houses on the 42-acre site than the current SF1 zoning allows. Milky Way is currently SF1 with a conditional overlay that essentially makes the average lot size well over 1 acre per home. Milestone is requesting to build up to 82 homes.

River Place residents do not want the zoning to change to something other than what has been established adjacent to the property because of safety and traffic issues, and they want to keep the neighborhood design. But residents are willing to support recommendations made by ZAP staff to limit the development to 2/3-acre lots which would equal 40-50 homes.

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SR evacuation route funding being considered

Construction on proposed $2.7 million project could start in early 2019

By KIM ESTES
Four Points News

A proposal funding construction of an emergency evacuation route from Steiner Ranch is scheduled for consideration Tuesday, Feb. 21 by Travis County Commissioners, said Travis Gatlin, budget director of the Travis County Planning and Budget Office.

The project creates a secondary access point from Flat Top Ranch Road to Fritz Hughes Park Road. Cost of the proposed route is $2.7 million. Additionally, the connection will not be open to everyday traffic, said David Greear, Travis County – Transportation and Natural Resources engineering division manager.

If approved as recommended by the Planning and Budget Office and the Transportation and Natural Resources office, construction could begin in less than two years, Greear said.

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Valentine’s in Four Points

Sydney Loest, LWBE first grader, likes Valentine’s because everyone dresses up in red, pink and white and sometimes black. This year her dad helped her make her box so she could collect cards and candy at her school party.

“My box explains about me. At church school we talked about the Garden of Eden and I decided to make that my box and added glitter and butterflies,” said Eden Stockdell, Laura W. Bush Elementary 1st grader.

I made a unicorn box cuz unicorns make me happy. Last year for Valentine’s I got a unicorn and I always sleep with it.

“My box explains about me. At church school we talked about the Garden of Eden and I decided to make that my box and added glitter and butterflies,” said Eden Stockdell, Laura W. Bush Elementary 1st grader.

Sawyer Jackson
LWBE 1st grader
I made a Star Wars, Pokemon, and Angry Bird Transformers box because I really like Star Wars, Pokemon and Angry Bird Transformers. It took a long time to color.

Grace Draeken
LWBE 1st grader
I made a unicorn box cuz unicorns make me happy. Last year for Valentine’s I got a unicorn and I always sleep with it.

Kevin Mena, 4th grade at River Ridge Elementary, shows off his Valentine’s box.

Lauren Wade’s kindergarten class at River Place Elementary featured Valentine’s boxes on Tuesday from L-R Landry, Caroline, Stella, Skylah, and Alex.

Raedyn
Debruyne, a pre-K student at Primrose of Four Points, worked hard perfecting the details of his Valentine’s cards this year.

William
Zimmerman
LWBE 1st grader
I made a robot because I like robots. We looked at some pictures and came up with this idea.

Bobcat in River Place greenbelt


Steve Snodell’s game camera captured a bobcat on Jan. 25 in his River Place backyard greenbelt on Merrywing Circle.

“I have never seen it, only on the game camera which has a motion sensor and infrared flash,” said Snodell, an orthodontist at Cedar Park Orthodontics.

Snodell’s camera is mounted to a tree and has a motion detector with infrared flash for night photos. Over the past couple of years, his game camera has captured photos of foxes, coyotes, deer, raccoons, skunks and opossums.

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