BUDA — After a heated discussion about traffic, Buda City Council approved a request for a zoning map amendment from interstate business to planned development for the property to be known as Azure Modern Living, located off East Main Street near the I-35 intersection, following a public hearing at its July 18 meeting.

The project proposes to construct a single, four-story building, consisting of approximately 8,765 square feet of commercial/retail space on the ground floor and a total of 51 residential units. It will consist of a mix of one-bedroom units (32) and two-bedroom units (19).

The property is located within the Interstate Corridor District. Per the Buda 2030 Comprehensive Plan, the goal of the Interstate Corridor District is to “take advantage of the economic potential of I-35 as a commercial corridor.”

According to the city, the applicant met all the parking standards of a mixed-use development by proposing 62 dedicated residential parking spaces for the 51 apartments.

When it went before the Planning & Zoning Commission in June, the project was approved unanimously, as the commission believed it was a good use of the space given the limited nature of the residential units and commercial sites, according to Buda Development Services Director Melissa McCollum.

Several council members seemed excited by this prospective plan, but talk about traffic and the city’s notification process soon turned heated.

“I was looking at entries, just being considerate of all the Main Street traffic we have anyway and concerns from citizens,” said council member LaVonia Horne-Williams, noting her concern that the congestion is “beyond crazy right now.”

“We’ve got so much traffic jammed on those two streets and Subaru [dealership] is coming … I think it’s a beautiful concept; I think it’s great to have some mixed-use over there, but how do we address the fact that we’re putting 51 units in the space with those same two pressure points that we are trying to find a resolution for?” Horne-Williams asked. “I’m understanding the concept, but what are some of the solutions to help improve that space so we don’t add to it?”

McCollum said it’s “different traffic.”

“You are going to have some more traffic, but the city is looking to expand East Main Street there and some additional connections, but this development in itself did not trigger any major improvements to the overall transportation network system that is there,” she added.

The council member then inquired about how many neighboring property owners were notified about the proposed development.

Staff notified property owners within 400 feet of this development and received a question from one neighboring property owner who inquired if it was going to be another hotel, according to the agenda documents. No one appeared before council to make a public comment on the item.

“We hold a public hearing about this, and nobody from those neighborhoods is here,” Horne-Williams said. “How did we notify them this was going to be on the agenda? Because this directly impacts them.”

McCollum said that the Sunfield subdivision was not notified, although the city met the legal requirements for posting in the newspaper and through its own notification process, including social media.

“East Buda is already a mess with the traffic,” the council member responded. “We don’t have anyone here [from East Buda] … Improving the quality of life for everybody, we don’t want to just throw this on a group of folks that don’t know this is even happening. I think if it gets posted later, we as a city, in our posting of this issue, are going to get pelted over it.”

Mayor pro tem Evan Ture pointed out that the city exceeds the state minimum standards of notifying residents of items on the agenda. Horne-Williams said that while she understands that the city met state requirements of notification, she felt as though Buda had not met the moral requirements of notification.

“Once again, we are treating East Buda differently than we would treat West Buda. It’s no different than the concerns that are had at 967 and 1626, so if we’re going to talk about why we have to notice people and why we have to let them know, we represent everybody in the city of Buda, and if it impacts how they live their life, how they raise their families and how they live in this city? Absolutely, we have to let them know,” Horne-Williams stressed, citing an example of how the city went beyond state requirements in notifying residents of a certain neighborhood regarding another project. “The issue isn’t just one side or the other. The issue is that we treat everybody the same … We need to be representing the people who live here on all sides of town … That’s why we should be letting people know and communicating and doing the right thing, just because it’s the right thing to do.”

Following her comments, the city council voted 5-1 to approve the measure on the first and final reading, with Horne-Williams dissenting.

Mayor Lee Urbanovsky was absent from the meeting.