PERSIMMON DEVELOPMENT
BUDA — MileStone Community Builders’ proposed Persimmon development once again went before Buda’s Planning and Zoning Commission to no avail.
The commission unanimously voted to recommend denying Persimmon’s preliminary plat phase 1 during the Feb. 14 P&Z meeting. This type of plat is a legal division of land that establishes a subdivision of land into blocks and lots, outlines easements, rightsof- way for roads, utilities and more.
Persimmon’s preliminary plat consists of 462 single family lots, two multi-family lots, 15 open-space lots, two park/amenity lots and one lift station lot, all on the Bailey tract of the development.
According to Buda senior planner Will Parrish, the plat being considered was only for 176 acres out of the development’s total 775 acres. MileStone submitted the application under the “statutory review process,” which requires action to be taken within 30 days of its acceptance (Jan. 17).
According to agenda documents, city staff’s review of the preliminary plat found it “deficient” and included 90 comments that cited various inconsistencies, incomplete data and information and suggestions on changes or additions. As such, they recommended the commission deny the plat. Prior to the vote, MileStone Director of Entitlements Andrew Cortes said that after receiving these comments, dated Feb.10, they believe the preliminary plat as submitted “substantially meets the applicable requirements.”
“While there are a lot of comments, we believe most of them are administrative, not applicable or duplicates.
We’ll review these comments further with the city as well as county staff and then address it more fully in an updated submittal,” Cortes said.
“I understand the staff is recommending denial tonight with reasons and should the P&Z confirm that action, I'd like to note for the record, for the community and stakeholders that are impacted by this project, if it proceeds as proposed, that the approval of the subdivision is not discretionary, meaning that once each one of those comments in the report is addressed adequately, which we intend to do with subsequent updates, the application for the county subdivision must be approved and the project will move forward.”
Residents like Colin Strother, who previously served on P&Z for a decade, have been vocal about MileStone’s rhetoric that should Buda not approve the development, it will instead be built as a Hays County subdivision and under county regulations, which would greatly reduce the city’s involvement in the project and change many aspects of it. MileStone has maintained that if Persimmon is approved this way, commitments in the current development agreement such as no apartments and an FM 1626 connector would go away.
“For far more than a year, this commission, the city council and city staff has over and over and over again shared with these people our concerns, our worries and what we need to be able to make this work.
They [MileStone] don’t care,” Strother said. “Once again, the arrogance to walk up here and put a gun to all of your heads and say, ‘We’re going to do this with or without you.’ … I have never seen a more aggressive, more dishonest, more destructive proposal than these people have put forth ... This is Buda. We’re going to make this decision and you’re not.”
Residents and city leaders have voiced various concerns with what the development will do to Buda’s traffic, environment, water and wastewater services and more, so the commission’s denial is not unexpected.
“This [application] is once again coming to us pretty egregiously incomplete and deficient, again from this developer,” P&Z Chair Emily Jones said. “So much so that I couldn’t possibly approve it in the state that it’s in.”
With the recommended denial of the plat, further discussion and action will take place within 15 days from MileStone’s application resubmission in accordance with the statutory review timeline.
