Lakeway planning commission backs PUD changes for Tuscan Village but rejects drive‑through by‑right

The Lakeway Zoning and Planning Commission on March 5 recommended multiple amendments to the Tuscan Village Section 2 planned unit development, approving three of the requests and recommending against allowing a restaurant drive‑through to be permitted by right.

The commission voted 4–3 to delete a PUD requirement that 50% of the multifamily units in Parcel D be age‑restricted to 55 or older and to instead make the units "age targeted." The body unanimously approved deleting the option to hold the cluster cottages as rental units (they will be for sale) and unanimously approved allowing cut and fill up to 25 feet for retaining walls around the municipal water tank site. The commission voted 6–1 to recommend that City Council not allow a drive‑through by right in Parcel F; a drive‑through would still be possible later if the applicant seeks a special use permit.

Why it matters: The package of changes touches housing type, financing and site engineering. Developers said zoning text tied to an explicit 55‑plus requirement is constraining their ability to secure permanent financing for a project that the developer markets to older adults. Commissioners and residents raised concerns about parking, enforcement of age restrictions, traffic and future resale or repurposing of the project.

Developers and staff described the specific changes and why they were requested. City planning staff said the amendment would remove the option to rent the 21 cluster cottages and make those units for sale; the 39‑unit condominium building had always been proposed for sale. Developer Bill Hayes said steep site grades around a proposed…