(Source: By Marques G. Harper, Austin American-Statesman, Texas) - Plans for 800 new apartment units and duplexes in a busy area of Steiner Ranch have residents of this Western Travis County community concerned about increased traffic as well as the possibility of growing school enrollment.
“We need to make whatever development does come … fit and be compatible to the existing community,” said Steiner Ranch resident Greg Milligan, co-chairman of the development committee for the newly formed Steiner Ranch Neighborhood Association, which includes residents in the surrounding area.
So far, the neighborhood association has collected 1,500 signatures for a petition against the new apartments, but it’s unlikely they can stop them.
Adib Khoury, vice president of land resources for real estate development company Taylor Morrison, said the plans will help meet a growing need in the Austin market for more apartments. Taylor Morrison is a partner in Taylor Woodrow Communities Steiner Ranch LP, which owns Steiner Ranch.
Land off Steiner Ranch Boulevard reserved for a 300-unit apartment complex has been cleared for construction, which is expected to begin this year.
Another 250 apartments are proposed for land that’s under contract to be purchased by an apartment developer, Khoury said. Construction for those apartments wouldn’t begin until 2013. Those two projects are outside Austin and don’t require city approval.
Khoury said development plans for a third parcel of land changed because of residents’ concerns. Land at Quinlan Park Road near RM 620 was going to be used for a 300-unit apartment complex, an indoor storage facility, a hotel and a retail strip center. Now a less dense project is planned with 180 duplex units. He said the earliest start date for construction would be mid-2013. The Austin City Council gave zoning approval last week, and the portion that’s inside the city will be capped at 54 residential units.
After last summer’s wildfire and the evacuation of Steiner Ranch, Milligan said neighborhood association members also have concerns about the safety of the 10,000 residents who probably would have to use Quinlan Park Road or Steiner Ranch Boulevard during an emergency. Steiner Ranch, which is on 4,600 acres, also has schools, offices, shops and eateries.
He said he worries that there would be too much traffic on Quinlan Park Road with vehicles coming and going from the new shopping center, which includes a Randalls grocery store, as well as the planned apartments and duplexes.
“We’re not going to get any more fire stations, any more police stations, any more EMS stations,” said Milligan, who has lived in Steiner Ranch with his family for three years. “One of the limiting factors that we have is that we’re in the county. We don’t have City of Austin zoning. The county doesn’t have very many tools in its toolbox to regulate development of this nature.”
To help address traffic concerns in the growing community, Khoury said, traffic lights were added on Quinlan Park Road at intersections that has been four-way stops, and roads were widened and turning lanes added to help alleviate traffic congestion at the entrance to Steiner Ranch. At a meeting in April, residents and Taylor Morrison representatives agreed that improvements needed to be made at RM 620 and Steiner Ranch Boulevard, including adding a traffic signal.
“We do not expect there to be any major traffic impacts within Steiner Ranch as a result of this additional development,” Khoury said.
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