Council reviews proposal for 7.79-acre Whitestone/Arrow Pointe commercial project; neighbors press for protections

Cedar Park — The council considered a request to amend the future land use map and rezone about 7.79 acres at the southwest corner of East Whitestone Boulevard and Arrow Pointe Drive to General Business with a conditional overlay, a request tied to a proposed grocery-anchored development and small-bay flex commercial space.

Development Services staff described the proposed conditional overlay, which would restrict a list of uses in the southern 150 feet of the property (including several restaurant and entertainment uses), increase the south landscape buffer from 20 to 25 feet and require a 60-foot building setback from the south property line with a 110-foot setback for loading docks. The Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the FLUP amendment and rezoning with the condition that alcoholic beverage establishments and outdoor commercial amusement uses be added to the prohibited list; the applicant agreed to that change but did not include the P&Z’s suggested 35-foot height limit within 200 feet of the south property line.

Applicant Austin McWilliams (CSW Development) said the project has been reconfigured to push buildings farther from the south property line and to reengineer detention so the southern buffer is larger; he said current site plans show roughly 120 feet between buildings and the south property line and that the developers have voluntarily reduced leasable flex space to increase the buffer and reoriented the detention pond. McWilliams said the grocery anchor footprint would remain roughly the same while flex commercial acreage was reduced by about 10,000 square feet from the original concept.

More than 20 written comments were received and staff said a valid petition in opposition constitutes more than 20% of abutting land area within city limits, so a supermajority of six votes would be required to approve any rezoning. Several residents spoke at the council meeting to reiterate concerns about noise, lighting, traffic and tree removal; neighbors also asked the council to require that the southernmost building be limited to professional office uses or lower-intensity uses. The applicant said it is amenable to continued discussion on buffers, the proposed masonry wall, tree preservation where feasible, and limiting loading docks; the applicant also offered to eliminate loading docks on the southern building. The public hearing was closed; council discussion centered on whether the conditional overlay could be strengthened, whether a height limit should be adopted, and what uses to explicitly prohibit. No final vote was taken at first reading.