Lampasas council refers Northampton Creek Estates rezoning back to planning and zoning after public concerns

The Lampasas City Council on Jan. 13 referred a proposed rezoning for Northampton Creek Estates — a development encompassing parcels near 1206 Mill Street and 1705 East 4th Street — back to the Planning and Zoning Commission for further study after residents raised concerns about density, drainage, water and sewer capacity, and traffic.

The rezoning request would change portions of the site from existing single-family categories into a mix that increases townhome and smaller-lot development. Planning staff described the proposal as rezoning about 31.81 acres to single-family attached townhomes (listed in materials as roughly 13.4 acres producing about 124 lots) and rezoning other portions totaling around 32.52 acres for additional smaller lots (about 145 lots, as provided in the packet). The planning commission did not reach a majority recommendation at its Dec. 12 meeting, so the application came to council on appeal.

The matter drew a lengthy public comment period. Homeowner Betsy Kemp opposed the plan, saying the new layout “marks a drastic departure from the previously approved plan” and raised density, infrastructure and environmental concerns, including standing water on site and the potential for increased runoff into Sulfur Creek. Kemp also cited traffic counts and school and utility capacity questions and urged the council to table the application until those issues were resolved.

Developer Emilio Morales and an engineer with Turvey & Associates responded to residents’ concerns during the hearing. Morales said the project team reduced the development footprint to preserve acreage for on-site detention and park space and that the proposal aims to limit post-development runoff so “we can’t release, by law, more water than what’s already going on to the neighboring properties.” He also said sewer service would require a lift station and that capacity studies and civil plans would follow zoning approval.

Council discussion repeatedly returned to three technical areas the council asked Planning and Zoning to study further: ingress/egress and emergency access, detailed drainage/runoff and flood planning tied to Sulfur Creek, and utility/school capacity and funding for any needed infrastructure upgrades. Council members noted the civil engineering and infrastructure analyses generally occur after zoning (during plat and civil-review phases), but several council members said they wanted Planning and Zoning to provide clearer, itemized findings on those topics before council acted on zoning.

Procedural actions: an initial motion to deny the rezoning failed; a subsequent motion to refer the application back to Planning and Zoning for further study carried. The council requested that Planning and Zoning return either a clear recommendation to approve or to deny and include specific findings on flood/drainage, ingress/egress, sewer/water capacity and projected school impacts.

Next steps: The council’s referral sends the application back to Planning and Zoning with direction to examine the technical items noted above and to provide a definitive recommendation back to council. Any future zoning decision may be followed by the civil and plat review process that will address engineering-level drainage and utility designs.