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West Lake Hills City Council approved a derogation motion allowing the construction of a private road for a new subdivision. (Courtesy Chris Gunter)
The developers of a 12.23 acre subdivision received the go-ahead from West Lake Hills City Council on April 28 for a request to deviate from a private road.
Known as Wild Cat Estates, the housing estate will comprise seven lots, some of which will be used for conservation, on 0 Wild Cat Hollow Drive in West Lake Hills.
The developer, Foursquare Builders LCC, requested a derogation from the council from building a private road about 20 feet wide instead of the public road prescribed in the city code.
Anjali Naini, the city’s director of construction and development, said the city needed more than 10 acres of subdivisions to provide a new internal road that would be open to the public.
Given special circumstances and neighbors’ concerns. West Lake Hills construction and development workers believe compliance with the code would be an unnecessary harshness, said Naini, who recommended approving the deviation request.
The property is already accessible via a private road – Foursquare intends to expand the narrow private access instead of a wider public road, according to the city’s employee report.
“The neighbors who are on the private road have all sent their support for being private,” David Altounian, a Foursquare representative, told the council.
Two neighbors next to the property expressed their support for the deviation request through emails to city officials.
“The wider public road would be very disruptive and would change the landscape incredibly and require extensive tree removals, which I would speak out against,” wrote Roy Stocker.
However, the city also received three emails against building a private road, all of which are uphill from the Skyline Drive location.
One of these residents is Chris Gunter, who also spoke during the council meeting on April 28th. Gunter said his main concern was fire regulations.
“We want the fire department to have meaningful access to every lot in the subdivision,” said Gunter.
According to the developers, the subdivision will meet all fire safety regulations, including a 100-foot turning radius, fire hydrants, and 20-foot access relief, among others.
These and other requirements will be reviewed when Foursquare submits an official subdivision application to the city, according to city administrator Travis Asky, who said the present derogation applies only to the carriageway.
After the discussion, the developers also said they were ready to communicate with Michael Lacey, No. 7 Firefighter for the Travis County Emergency Services District, about his recommendations.
