A parcel of property belonging to one of the more established families in Kyle may be developing soon.
By a 6-0 vote, the Kyle City Council approved a Public Improvement District (PID) application request by developer Intermandeco for property near Opal and Roland lanes Oct. 17. City leaders also approved a resolution for a public hearing to be held Nov. 4 regarding the PID application.
Scott Sellers, Kyle city manager, said the land, known as the Driskell Tract, had been situated outside of city limits. It wasn’t until 2016 that the city annexed the Driskell tract into its city limits, which came as a request by Intermandeco via multiple waivers.
“When they came back to the table and talked about acquiring this land from the Driskells, we were actually very hopeful and excited to see another development,” Sellers said.
He added the city was hopeful development could be established in the southwest quadrant of the city, which has been unable to develop until now due to wastewater issues.
“City ordinances are meant to protect residents from nefarious development practices as well as provide an upscale development standard,” Sellers said. “The council recognized when this development with pages of waivers came forward, it behooved the council to annex the entire parcel in and that annexation triggered a much broader conversation about annexation.”
Sellers said through those conversations, city staff was able to work with Intermandeco in developing the area more along the city’s standards.
While this changed the original density of the development that was put forward, the agreement would steer the development into being more feasible along the city’s engineering and infrastructural standards.
The PID, which is estimated not to exceed $5 million, would also allow for improvements along Opal and Roland lanes.
Those improvements include wasterwater drainage, along with improving the roads to handle the increased amount of traffic, as well as incorporating quiet zones.
The city has also asked Intermandeco to help fund these improvements as part of the development agreement.
“Those improvements but for the PID would not be made,” said Sellers. He added residents could benefit “as a whole” to the improvements.
However, Debbie Bales, who lives near the Driskell Tract, said during public comment Oct. 17 she opposes the development due to its density.
Bales said the proposed concept plan calls for an apartment complex with 345 units, 545 single-family homes and a retail component on roughly 170 acres.
Bales added she felt city staff or leaders were not hearing her concerns, which she originally addressed during the city’s annexation process.
Bales said she would have told city staff she would not support multi-family housing.
“None of you ever took the time to call and ask, ‘what would you want to see if something was developed across from you?” Bales said. “In my opinion, it’s too dense.”
