1,000-acre 'Travis Club' development moves forward in Travis County
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TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- Developers plan to transform what was a 1,000-acre ranch next to Lake Travis into a residential community with golf courses and a marina.
Travis County Commissioners Court approved Tuesday the final plat of the "Travis Club," a planned development in the works for more than a decade. Tuesday's approval authorized the creation of 53 single-family lots, and four multifamily lots containing 68 villas, seven open space and drainage lots, three golf course lots, one marina lot and two lots for sales office space.
In total, the development is expected to host 270 single-family lots and 220 villas, alongside its other amenities, a spokesperson for the owners and developers previously told KXAN.
Developers first presented the plan under a different name to the Travis County Commissioners Court in 2008 and it was approved then. One year later, however, one of the financial partners involved filed for bankruptcy, causing the plan to come to a halt.
The developers had to re-present the plan to the Travis County Commissioners Court in 2022 due to the previous approval expiring. This time it was only narrowly approved, and under the condition that the group would come back with a traffic impact analysis.
Nearby residents have previously voiced concerns about the project related to traffic, water usage, construction safety and its potential impact on the endangered Golden-Cheeked Warbler, according to previous KXAN reporting. A study at the time found there were more than 40 of the birds on the land.
Resident Kent Radford spoke before commissioners ahead of Tuesday's vote, noting substantial concerns he had with the single active entrance point flagged for the entire development off Thurman Bend Road. He requested commissioners postpone the approval of these permits until project heads "can get dramatically better traffic impact remediation measures" in place.
"We need multiple entrances, not simply access points for emergency services," he told commissioners. "And we also think that it would be wise to reduce the number of homes."
Commissioner Margaret Gómez said she appreciated residents' concerns, but explained the county doesn't have zoning powers. As a result, she said when a specific development meets all state laws, the county is "basically required to approve them."
"If we don't approve them, we get sued. And to tell you the truth, I don't like to use public money for lawsuits," she said. "It's a very difficult situation to be in, but that's what we're in as a county."
Commissioner Brigid Shea referred to the situation as the county being "handcuffed" by the state legislature in its ability to dissect developments more critically. She did stress the ability to require crash gates -- or more means of getting traffic in and out of larger-scale developments in cases of emergencies -- which she said applied to three crash gates involved in this plan.
Judge Andy Brown concluded the commission's comments by sharing his own concerns about water issues with large-scale developments coming down the pipeline, but reiterated the lack of power county governments have in these development cases.