Megan Navarro
DRIPPING SPRINGS — The Dripping Springs Planning & Zoning Commission unanimously approved a variance request to reduce the lot size for a property during its Tuesday, March 24, meeting.
The request is associated with a plat application for a single lot located at 11704 Crumley Ranch Road, within the Dripping Springs extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) and consists of a 1.189-acre corner reserve panel that was left unplatted when the Fitzhugh Corners Subdivision was originally subdivided in 1985. This has been used as a homestead, prior to the current owner acquiring the property, who is in the process of redeveloping the site for residential use.
According to the applicant, Phillip Lee, he purchased the property nearly four years ago to take it from a two-bedroom house to a three bedroom, with some modernizations, to host family and friends when they come to visit. He shared with the commission that his initial contractor said that the foundation was so old that it would be less expensive and faster to demo and rebuild, rather than adding on to the existing property — leading him to have the house disassembled to be rebuilt on a new foundation.
After having to find a new contractor, due to the initial one disappearing on the job after taking the money, Lee said that he was informed that they needed to go through the correct process with the city and county for proper paperwork.
“In doing so, we found out that the two-bedroom house that we purchased was not platted and so, that stopped us [and] set us back about seven or eight months,” Lee said. “I would just like to continue forward because otherwise, I'm going to end up with an unsellable property that I bought that I can't use.”
The property must be platted into a legal lot to comply with Hays County’s development requirements. The minimum lot size for properties in the ETJ that are served by surface/rainwater and septic systems is 1.5 acres, while properties served by wells and septic systems have a minimum lot size of 2.0 acres, per city ordinances.
Currently, the property is being served by an existing well and septic system that has been used for decades. The applicant is proposing to continue using the existing well, or use rainwater harvesting for drinking water, as there is no public water source system available.
The request is to reduce the minimum lot size requirement as follows:
Surface or rainwater and private septic: Minimum lot size in ETJ at 1.5 acres; variance request at 1.189 acres
Private well and private septic: Minimum lot size in ETJ at 2 acres; variance request at 1.189 acres
It is indicated in the request that the property will be served by rainwater and an advanced onsite sewage facility, also known as an aerobic system. When those two components are combined, it allows for the minimum lot size to be reduced — this is not just in Dripping Springs, but in wider regulations as well, said senior planner Sara Varvarigos.
“Looking into the requested variance in terms of our city of Dripping Springs’ requirements, if a lot that is in the Edwards Aquifer Contributing Zone, which is considered a less permeable part of the aquifer, if it's served by a combination of rainwater and private septic, our minimum lot size is 1.5 acres. So, getting a little bit closer to what they have now, which they cannot increase, like, realistically, their neighbors are not going to give them a part of their lot to increase their lot size,” Varvarigos said. “If they keep the well as their water source and if they use the private septic, which we are and they are recommending to do an advanced on-site septic, we're still at a 2-acre minimum lot size requirement, so much further from what they currently have in terms of lot sizing.”
To qualify for a variance, an applicant must identify unique conditions or constraints on their property that would result in undue hardship if the city’s ordinance is applied to the property as-is. In doing so, the following description was provided by the applicant:
“This tract was created decades ago with the creation of the Fitzhugh Corners Subdivision as an outparcel that was not a part of the subdivision, but was created as a 1.189 acre tract. The current owner is needing to plat this tract to make it a legal lot. As such, regardless of water source, the city's minimum lot size in the ETJ is 1.5 acres if on rainwater or 2.0 acres if on a well,” the description read. “In either scenario, there's nothing that can be done to make this lot larger than it is, which is the size it was created in the 1970s or 1980s. This was not created by the current owner, but is how it has been for nearly 50 years.”
When city staff reviewed this request, they looked at the surrounding properties, which are primarily single-family residences, explained Varvarigos. The corner of Crumley Ranch Road and Fitzhugh Road was left unplatted and there is now an instance where 21 of 23 lots in the surrounding Fitzhugh Corners Subdivision are smaller than the subject property.
City staff also looked at criteria for the subdivision variance, including the following: possible concerns regarding public safety and health or welfare to other properties; if the conditions are unique to the subject property; if particular hardships to the owner would take place without the variance; effects of zoning; alternate designs; and preservation of more native trees, providing more open space, etc.
After reviewing the criteria, city staff recommended the approval of the request, subject to the lot being served by an advanced on-site sewage facility and rainwater or surface water for drinking water purposes.
P&Z chair Mim James asked for clarification on how the applicant was able to purchase the lot without knowing at the time that it was not platted.
“The survey that I have from [the title company], it says plat and number. Now, I didn’t look for that because I didn’t even know that was a thing when I purchased it, but when they told me it wasn’t platted, I said, ‘What do you mean? It says plat number on this,’” Lee responded. “So, had I known what a plat was, I would have thought it had a plat because it had a plat number.”
James later asked if the well would be used at all, to which the applicant said: “When I read this and it says rainwater or surface water for drinking, I don’t know, maybe they can do it, so the well goes to the toilets and the showers and the rainwater and surface water goes to the sinks. I mean, I'd be happy to do that. I’d like to use the well to save me money.”
However, Varvarigos said this could change her analysis, as the lot size requirements for the combination of the surface water or rainwater and private septic is smaller at 1.5 acres, as compared to the 2 acres for private well and private septic.
“We are trying to, I guess, be prudent in terms of promoting that public health and safety and meeting somewhere in the middle when it comes to what our middle lot size requirements are for the combination of rainwater and private septic, which is what is indicated on the plat, I should point out, and also what was approved by the Hays County Development Services,” Varvarigos said. “They approved on the condition that it is served by rainwater and advanced on-site septic.”
Following more discussion, the P&Z Commission unanimously approved the variance request, subject to the lot being served by an advanced on-site sewage facility, rainwater or surface water for drinking water purposes and the existing well for nonpotable water uses.
Because this was not a zoning variance, the commission had final authority, so the request will not be brought to city council for a vote.
The full meeting can be viewed on the city of Dripping Springs’ YouTube page at www.youtube.com/@cityofdrippingsprings9597. The P&Z Commission meets next at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 28.
