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Council approves ERCO PUD rezoning with stricter buffers after resident concerns
Summary
Round Rock council approved a rezoning to a Planned Unit Development for a 23.43-acre ERCO Mechanical site near McNeil Road and S IH-35, adding requirements including a 25-foot landscape buffer, two rows of evergreen trees, a 100-foot building setback and prohibitions on truck parking and dumpsters within 100 feet following resident input.
The Round Rock City Council on second reading approved rezoning 23.43 acres near McNeil Road and the south IH-35 frontage from light industrial and single-family to a Planned Unit Development (PUD) for ERCO Mechanical, adding new standards intended to reduce impacts on the adjacent Chisholm Valley neighborhood.
City staff planner Bradley summarized changes added since first reading that responded to resident concerns: a mandatory 25-foot landscape buffer along the southern single-family boundary with two rows of evergreen trees; a 100-foot building setback; an 8-foot masonry or precast concrete panel fence requirement; limits on freestanding light pole height and a requirement that lighting be shielded and directed downward; and prohibitions on semi-truck parking, loading docks and dumpsters within 100 feet of the neighborhood.
"The PUD will serve to consolidate all of these and amend the future land use map and make them all industrial," Bradley said, then described the stricter landscape and lighting standards the city added after a petition from residents.
During the public hearing, resident Jason Carney urged the council to make the landscaping and tree installation a priority to provide immediate relief for homeowners, and asked that mature trees removed earlier be replaced sooner. "We ask that the protections we outlined, especially the setbacks, landscaping buffer, limits on noise and activity remain a meaningful part of your decision," Carney said.
The ERCO representative (identified in the record as Chip) told the council he was willing to "plant them tomorrow if I could" and that the applicant could coordinate earlier grading or phased work to place trees sooner if permitted by the city. Bradley explained that required landscaping typically installs with the site development permit and that in many projects heavy construction activity delays tree installation, but that the applicant's phasing plan could allow earlier planting in this case.
Council members discussed whether the required fence should sit at the property line or within the 25-foot buffer and heard concern that leaving the final placement flexible could delay the project's planning. The ordinance preserves limited flexibility, and staff noted the PUD text includes the requirements Bradley summarized.
After discussion, Councilmember Fleming moved to adopt the ordinance; Councilmember Ortega seconded. The council voted in favor, with all members present voting yes.
The PUD now proceeds to the administrative subdivision and site-development permitting steps before any building permits are issued; staff said utilities are sufficient for the site and no floodplain or additional capacity study is required for this property.
