City talks LDC ahead of public hearings
The end of a three-and-ahalf- year process to set the course of Taylor’s future development is in sight.
At the Oct. 12 meeting, the Taylor City Council heard a presentation from Assistant Manager Tom Yantis on the draft Land Development Code in advance of two public hearings Oct. 26 and Nov. 9 before the sweeping overhaul for new development, including regulations for zoning, subdivisions and signage, is expected to be adopted.
At the meeting, Yantis said this process began in spring of 2020 with the first Envision Taylor Comprehensive Plan, which mapped out five big ideas, including fiscal sustainability, preserving the city’s character, supporting diverse housing types and more, and became more critical after the arrival of Samsung Austin Semiconductor in November 2021.
“This plan will ensure that the explosive growth is most beneficial for the residents of Taylor now and 100 years from now,” Yantis said. “(Residents) did not want Taylor to end up looking and feeling and living like some of the surrounding suburbs that we are all too familiar with, with homogenous, cookie cutter neighborhoods that are going to lose value over time as opposed to gain value over time and don’t pay for the cost of the infrastructure and maintenance and don’t create community within them.”
Yantis gave an overview of the 241-page document, including the new form of place type zoning, which will be replacing conventional zoning, including Place Type 1 Nature, 2 Rural Commercial, 3 Neighborhood, etc. and allow for more intensive infill development as opposed to traditional suburban sprawl.
“Place types regulate intensity of development and building types, while conventional zoning regulates the uses that are allowed inside the buildings,” according to officials.
District 4 Councilman Robert Garcia said one positive aspect of the plan is the increased flexibility it offers for subdividing lots and building different types of dwelling units.
“I like the fact that we can split (the lots) in the residential improvement areas,” Garcia said. “Because some of the lots in Taylor are big and we are looking for ways to help people stay in their houses and afford the house, and a lot of kids these days are having to stay with their parents because they can’t afford it.”
Jimmy Crouch, a Bastrop resident who works in commercial development and construction and serves as a member of the City Council there, used the citizens communication portion of the meeting to express his concern about the proposed LDC, which was released by San Marcos based consulting firm Simplecity Design in September.
“I’m here as a citizen and a good neighbor because I can see that you are having the same growth problems that we are experiencing,” he said. There is a lot of unintended consequences with the plan y’all are about to adopt and vote on and look into for your city.”
Crouch said there is not really an appropriate spot for commercial development under the kind of code they are considering.
“In this new code that you are looking at, there is no parking,” Crouch said. “You looked at those three layers ... There is no parking in the first layer. You are supposed to park in the third layer because the buildings are designed to be on the street ... This presents a problem with commercial deliveries because typically all of them are done in the back of the development, so, you can’t really have your car parking back there because you can’t comingle delivery trucks and pedestrian citizens.”
Yantis said while big box development is not allowed in walkable pedestrian neighborhood place types, this plan also accommodates traditional commercial development as well.
“To dispel the rumors, one of the things that was mentioned is there is no place under this code to do commercial development, like a typical drive-through restaurant or big box retail,” Yantis said. “That is false. There are two zones where that is allowed ... It is on the edges, on highways.”
David Glenn, the senior director of government affairs at Home Builders Association of Greater Austin, also advised the city to slow down and do more testing before adopting the LDC.
“Instead of pushing this through in the next 30 days or so, take some time, put together a group of stakeholders, get some engineers in the room and some developers ... the folks that are actually going to be using this code, and allow them to evaluate it,” Glenn said.
Yantis responded that stakeholders have repeatedly participated in the process since January of 2022.
District 2 Councilman Mitch Drummond expressed his support for the plan.
“I think this is fabulous,” he said. “Let’s put it into action. I know there is going to be problems. Let’s fix them when they happen. We modify ordinances all the time.”
Assistant City Manager Tom Yantis speaks on the Land Development Code Oct. 12 at the regular meeting of the Taylor City Council. Photo by Nicole Lessin
