Planning commission denies variance for Walker Estates subdivision; approves plat meeting code

The City Planning Commission voted to approve the preliminary plat for Walker Estates LLC while denying the developer'requested variance that would have excused a planned road connection across Walker Branch Creek.

Staff had recommended denial of the variance, saying the developer had not demonstrated a valid hardship for omitting the connection. Planning staff noted the stream is classified at the location as a third'order stream and therefore does not itself constitute the hardship claimed by the applicant.

Byron Gill, who represented Walker Estates LLC, said the restriction results from state land'use restrictions tied to an endangered species and that TDEC and TWRA had placed limitations on the property. "This is a TWRA and TDEC land restriction because of an endangered species within that stream," Gill said, adding the applicant has a renewed permit and is working with the agencies.

Os Ahmed, the project's engineer, told the commission the applicant has an active permit and that TDEC had approved a 30'foot buffer on each side; Ahmed said the permit had been renewed and the applicant intended to comply with open'space requirements.

Planning staff and the developer disputed whether the restriction justified a variance. Planner Maddie explained that the city would pursue any required changes to the state restrictions during engineering review if the commission approved a plat that met city code: "If y'all approve meeting the code, that just goes into that post plan commission review, and we will handle it from there," Maddie said.

Public commenter Derek Dawson criticized prior land'use decisions and raised safety concerns about the buffer distance between proposed lots and North Hartman Drive, urging a larger setback or other design changes to reduce vehicle risks near homes.

After discussion, the commission first considered a motion to approve the plat with the variance; that motion failed. A subsequent motion to approve the preliminary plat as meeting the code and thereby deny the variance passed. The commission'approved plat proceeds to engineering review, at which point staff indicated they will work with TDEC and TWRA on whether a road crossing can be permitted. The record does not show a detailed roll'call in the transcript for the final tally.