Commission recommends CUP for administrative/professional offices at former Montessori building on La Buena Vista

The Wimberley Planning and Zoning Commission recommended the city council approve CUP25-005 to permit administrative and professional office uses at 45 La Buena Vista Drive in the Willowgate area, the commission decided at its March 19 meeting.

City planning staff said the property, formerly operated as a Montessori school, sits in a Neighborhood Services zone where office uses are allowed by conditional use. "The property is zoned neighborhood services... there’s a lot of conditional uses that can be applied for within that zoning, one of them being administrative and professional offices," Nathan, city planning staff, said while presenting the application. Staff reported the site is about 1.5 acres with a total floor area of 5,233 square feet and that staff recommends approval as a low-impact commercial transition between commercial and residential areas.

The commission opened the public hearing and heard from the property owners and a prospective tenant. An applicant representative said the building had previously housed a Montessori school and that the owners invested about $130,000 in start-up infrastructure when the school opened. "We feel like office space would be a perfect situation for that... the building's in fantastic shape," the applicant representative said. A prospective tenant, who described his family’s service-disabled-veteran-owned government contracting business, said the company would use the space for cubicles and office collaboration, would have roughly a dozen employees total and did not anticipate large deliveries or heavy equipment.

Commissioners and staff discussed parking and septic. The applicant stated the parking lot had been sized for the school and "could easily hold 20 cars." Staff reported the facility had been permitted for septic when used as a school. No letters of opposition were reported; staff said one nearby resident said they planned to listen but not oppose. After discussion, a commissioner moved to recommend approval and the motion passed.

The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Wimberley City Council for final action on CUP25-005. Recorded details on the record include the property’s prior use as a Montessori school, its floor area and acreage, the applicants’ reported $130,000 initial investment, and the applicant’s statement that no heavy equipment or large deliveries are anticipated.