By Brittany Anderson
HAYS — Another piece of Hays Commons, a large development proposed in the small city of Hays, has been denied by the city council in the hopes that developer MileStone Community Builders can provide a clearer, more accurate picture of the development’s plans.
Hays council members denied the preliminary plat presented “as is” for Hays Commons during a special meeting on Nov. 30. Council members Tony Valdez and Candace Blake and mayor pro tem Roxanne O’Neal voted to deny the plat; council member Glennell Strawn abstained and council member Hannah Ballou was not present during the meeting. Mayor Billy Maphies only votes in the event of a tie.
The preliminary plat presented by MileStone for council’s consideration during the meeting showed 290.1 acres with 20 single-family lots, two multi-family/condo lots, three parkland/open spaces lots, three utility lots and one commercial lot.
Per Hays city engineer Don Rauschuber, the single-family lots would span 190 acres, multi-family lots would span nearly 88 acres, the parkland/open spaces lots would span nearly 140 acres and 13 acres are proposed for the commercial lots.
Additionally, nearly 10 acres of the commercial lot acreage would be allocated for impervious cover, or man made surfaces that do not absorb rainfall. The single-family lots would have nearly 5 acres for impervious cover and 35 acres for multi-family lots and no impervious cover allocation for the parkland or utility lots.
However, some council members and residents have not been easily swayed by MileStone’s plans so far. Many have voiced their concerns for the development, as it would sit on top of the sensitive Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone where karst features have already been identified.
Because of this, there are also concerns about the amount and type of water and wastewater services that would be needed by a development of this size.
Rauschuber explained that the plat plans outline that water and wastewater services would be provided by the city of Hays or through a municipal utility district (MUD) and a service extension request to the city of Austin would also be implemented. However, if service is not provided by Austin, it would be provided through the use of local wells and wastewater system plans such as land application.
While the council recently unanimously denied MileStone’s MUD request during the Nov. 14 regular meeting, many other residents have also been opposed to the use of land application because of the sensitive land features, and local wells because of the lack of resources that already exist for the small community.
“I think it’s a little strange to have this proposal without determining how exactly they’re going to treat the wastewater over the aquifer,” said resident L.V. Dickerson over a Zoom call. “It’s a little disturbing that that isn’t plotted out yet … The city of Hays already struggles with the one well that we have to supply what we have to the residents that already exist. If all the other alternatives fall through, then what does that do to our already strained resources?”
Mike Clifford with the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance also outlined five main objections of the plat: incompleteness of the development’s plans, inadequate buffer zones for karst features, potential plot flooding, issues with impervious cover percentages and limits and habitat concerns within wooded areas.
“On a personal note, I have an engineering background, and I’ve never seen a plat this incomplete, even as a preliminary plat,” Clifford added.
Ultimately, the denial of the plat stemmed from some of the council’s concerns with various inconsistencies, incompleteness and unanswered questions, both with the preliminary plat and larger development agreement, which was first written and signed in 2013 and is still being amended.
Hays City Council will next meet on Dec. 12.
