Megan Navarro
DRIPPING SPRINGS — In the interest of more community feedback and deliberation, at its Tuesday, Aug. 19, meeting, Dripping Springs City Council referred a zoning amendment request to go back before the Planning & Zoning Commission.
The request was for the approval of a zoning map amendment to rezone an approximately 0.3-acre lot located at 200 Bluff Street from an existing SF-5, single-family attached residential district garden home, within the Hays Historic District Overlay to Local Retail (LR) with the same overlay, as well as an additional Conditional Overlay, according to agenda documents.
Jennifer Killebrew and Jeremy Killebrew, owners and operators of GLOW Med Spa along Ranch Road 12 for approximately six years, are looking to relocate their business to the subject property, which would convert the existing residential land use to a health spa offering medical services.
“Part of GLOW Med Spa has become mixing the old with the new [and] 200 Bluff Street was on the market as a residential property; they could not sell it. A lot of it needs to be redone,” Jennifer said in her presentation to council. “We saw this as an opportunity to bring some revenue to the property, but also beautify it … We are in love with it. We feel like it’s going to be part of our brand, as well, and matches what we are doing.”
She added that they have put in a contract, in which they must be approved for the rezoning to close on the sale.
The property is one of the most well-known historic buildings in Dripping Springs; it was an old doctor’s house, originally built in 1883 and has some additions that were made in 1905 and in recent years, said Russell Collins of Revolve Designs.
The original concept design is to “bring back the glory” of the 1883 homestead and introduce a wellness component plus a medical spa resort location, Collins said. Goals within the master site concept would be to have the following: a pool with a terrace and small cabanas; rehabilitating the stone cistern into a salt cave; dry infrared sauna house; unisex bathrooms for changing; and more.
Moving into the staff report, senior planner Sara Varvarigos explained that the zoning update to LR with a historic overlay would allow the permitted land uses to increase from 16 to 73, but it would not allow the full list of 82 that are permitted without the overlay. The Historic Preservation Commission would need to review and approve any site plans or exterior updates through a certificate of appropriateness before permit applications.
“The LR zoning would actually increase the minimum square footage required for a legal lot size under the updated LR zoning,” Varvarigos said. “The current zoning also allows for up to 80% impervious cover on the site, whereas the LR zoning reduces the maximum impervious cover permitted by 20%.”
Staff believes that the zoning amendment would not impact the existing properties that are zoned the same or impact their ability to redevelop if they wanted to in the future, Varvarigos stated.
As far as feedback from the public, while there have been some letters of support from neighboring residents, there has been some mixed feedback with concerns about potential parking arrangements, as well as reservations about impacts of future land use that could be permitted under LR zoning.
Council member Ana Grace Husted asked what the details would be for offsite parking and if a contract would be needed with neighboring businesses, like Pig Pen BBQ, to have additional spots.
“Long-term willingness on the part of those neighboring businesses to share parking with the applicants, then that would require a long-term parking agreement. It would also require a variance, so they would have to go in front of P&Z and ultimately, city council, to get that type of variance,” Varvarigos clarified.
The senior planner explained that staff recommended that certain conditions be placed on the zoning request through the addition of a conditional overlay, which would do the following:
• Reduce land uses permitted by right from 73 to 59
• Increase the number of land uses requiring a conditional use permit from 12 to 15
• Increase the number of prohibited land uses from 145 to 156
• Prohibit any outside storage or display on the site
• Limit hours of business operation to a schedule between 9 a.m to 7 p.m.
This also follows P&Z discussing the zoning request at its July 28 meeting, which ultimately recommended approval prior to the work that city staff did on the subsequent conditional overlay. According to chair Mim James, the commission spent “considerable time” talking about potential future rezoning in the district and the implications for preserving its character.
“Although zoning was the focus of our discussion, like we normally do, we couldn't help but get into some of the aspects of the concept plan and we did offer some suggestions to staff with regard to parking, hours of operation and those kinds of things,” he said. “But again, we tried to focus on the fact that this was a rezoning request and not a site development plan. Finally, we verified that [the] Historic Preservation Commission would be involved in reviewing the site development plan because they have to come up with a recommendation for a certificate of appropriateness and we certainly defer to their judgment on those matters in the historic districts.”
Mayor Bill Foulds pointed out that there needed to be some clearer language on the proposed use of the property, since there has been some discussion of a special event or fundraiser, as well as a spa, and that can be confusing for neighboring residents.
“I think it may be best to go back to P&Z, but it’s certainly council's pleasure. I think the concept of the spa — I don't know [and] I haven't heard really much from council — seems like that's okay. But now, when y'all open the door with ‘Well, we might want to do this and might want to do that,’ for me, of sitting up here for as long as I have, when I start hearing we might want to do it, that moves over into the ‘We're going to do this. We just don't want to admit it right now,’” Foulds said. “So, I have a great deal of concern about that because those people that have lived there and are still living there, I feel like they have a fair right to know what's going on.”
Council member Travis Crow agreed, stating that the more in-depth deliberation on the conditional overlay should have been worked out not only by staff, but also at the P&Z level.
Jennifer chimed in that she is willing to earn trust with the city and come back as long as “we have an avenue to recommend. I don't see a problem with this. We will earn the trust of the community. I'm not worried about that. If it's a matter of asking for a special event permit for something that happens every now and then, that doesn't affect us either. So, for us, we see it as a non-issue as long as we have an avenue in order to come and speak to you again if we need to expand.”
After there have been some questions that the conditional overlay recommendation did not occur until after the request went before P&Z, Varvarigos explained that up until the commission’s meeting, there had only been two letters of unanimous support from business owners.
“However, during P&Z, that's where we got additional public feedback in addition to the very good questions that were raised by the Planning and Zoning Commission. We heard from two Dripping Springs residents during that very meeting and then, also following the meeting, we received a public comment letter that was on the 31st,” the senior planner said. “So, really, that work of drafting a tool that would fine tune the original ask to make it reflective and responsive to the surrounding context and concerns of the people who care enough to share feedback. That was really staff's intention: to be responsive.”
Ultimately, council unanimously voted to refer the zoning request back to P&Z for further review at a later meeting.
