The Bastrop City Council considered a special-use permit request for 607 Orion Drive after planning staff reviewed the structure and advised the council the proposed work would comply with municipal planning and zoning ordinances if built as an attached garage.
Planning staff explained that a freestanding garage or carport can trigger a special-use review, but an attached garage that matches the home’s roofline would be considered part of the house and, under the ordinance, would be permitted by right. Staff reported the submitted plans indicate the garage roof would connect to the existing roofline and that setbacks met the ordinance requirements (one cited measurement of 5.8 feet to adjacent setbacks was given as compliant).
Council members and neighbors asked whether private deed restrictions or homeowners’ association covenants could prevent the work; city staff clarified that such private restrictions are enforced between private parties in district court and are not enforced by the city through planning and zoning decisions. Staff advised that, because of an existing moratorium on certain administrative approvals, this matter required council action rather than administrative approval; staff recommended council approval because the plans conformed to the city ordinance.
Councilors were told the construction had begun before a permit was issued, and staff said the permit application and plans would regularize the work if it remains consistent with the ordinance. After discussion, the council voted in favor of approving the special-use/variance request for an attached garage at 607 Orion Drive, with staff advising the approval was consistent with the city's planning and zoning ordinance.