Planning commission approves Birch at Spencer Ranch Phase 3 final plat with amended traffic-stipulation

The Boerne Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday approved the final plat for Birch at Spencer Ranch Phase 3, a proposed 70-lot single-family subdivision west of Spencer Road and north of State Highway 46, by a 7-0 vote.

Planning staff presented the application and said the proposed final plat is consistent with an approved 2018 master community plan, a 2021 development agreement and preliminary plat approvals from 2022 (extended in 2024). Frankie Linder of the planning department told commissioners that "staff has determined that this plat meets all requirements of the UDC and therefore, recommends that the planning and zoning commission approve the plat with the following stipulations." Linder listed five conditions including that the recorded plat conform to the version stamped 03/26/2025 and that a secondary Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) be approved prior to recordation.

Commissioners focused discussion on a proposed condition (commission action No. 4) tied to traffic controls along State Highway 46. Commissioners asked whether the Item’s language required a traffic signal or only warning signs, how the timing would be determined and who would be responsible for installation. Commissioner Harler read the traffic impact analysis language aloud and asked, "It's stating in the AIS that they are undoubtedly adding a light. Is that correct?" Planning staff and the applicant explained that a full traffic signal would be installed only when warranted by future Traffic Impact Analyses (TIAs) and by TxDOT standards, while the condition under review was intended to secure earlier installation of warning signs or warning lights if TxDOT would allow them.

Several commissioners said the original wording was too weak. Commissioner Cates (spelled in the record variously) and others asked that condition No. 4 be amended to require the applicant to cooperate with city staff and include cost sharing in approaches to TxDOT for two warning signs/lights on Highway 46 to warn motorists of the upcoming intersection at Spencer Ranch Boulevard, conditioned on TxDOT approval. City staff confirmed engineering staff had begun outreach to TxDOT.

Commissioner Heiler moved to approve the final plat with the amended language for commission action No. 4; the motion was seconded and passed 7-0. The commission’s approval included the staff stipulations that clerical corrections be made to the recorded plat and that the secondary LOMR be approved prior to recording.

The approval does not itself build roads or signals; the motion requires follow-up steps — the secondary LOMR before recordation, coordination with parks on a trail easement, and coordination with TxDOT regarding warning signs/lights or a future traffic signal when warranted by TIAs and TxDOT standards. Staff noted that a development agreement and prior approvals include provisions about cumulative traffic impacts for the broader Spencer Ranch project, which staff said will be considered as parcels are developed and TIAs are submitted.

The applicant or property owner must satisfy the stated stipulations before the city will accept the recorded plat.

Votes at a glance: the motion to approve the plat with the amended commission action No. 4 carried 7 in favor, 0 opposed.

What happens next: the applicant must obtain the secondary LOMR and complete clerical corrections, coordinate with parks on the trail easement alignment and pursue TxDOT approval for warning signs/lights per the amended stipulation. Any TxDOT approvals, TIAs or future signal installations will follow TxDOT’s warranting process and separate approvals.