Round Rock council advances ERCO PUD on first reading after residents protest unauthorized tree clearing

Round Rock City Council on first reading approved rezoning 23.43 acres near McNeil Road and the South IH‑35 frontage road to Planned Unit Development (PUD) No. 160, a change staff said would consolidate a mix of industrial and remnant single-family designations into a primarily industrial use to support expansions of the existing ERCO operations.

At a public hearing, multiple neighbors accused ERCO and its contractors of unauthorized clearing that removed brush and much of the privacy buffer behind dozens of homes. "Clearing beyond approval is not over performance. It is negligence and caused harm," said Mackenzie Scales, who identified herself during public comment and asked the council to require the conditions in the neighborhood petition as enforceable obligations rather than optional commitments.

Jason Carney, who said he has lived on Buffalo Pass for 17 years, said the tree removal changed his view, increased noise and put property values at risk. He asked the council to require expedited replacement plantings, restrict overnight truck activity and place an eight‑foot masonry wall farther onto ERCO property so the trees sit between homes and the wall.

Planning staff told the council the city had pre‑ and post‑clearing tree surveys and that, per city rules, protected trees require permits while many scrub and nonprotected species (hackberry, Chinese pistache) do not. Staff said the PUD includes a 25‑foot landscape buffer, a masonry wall option, limits on freestanding light height near residential lots and prohibitions on loading docks that face the southern residential boundary. Staff also said the Planning & Zoning Commission unanimously recommended approval and that the developer had held a neighborhood meeting.

Council members pressed staff and the applicant on several enforcement and mitigation points: where within the 25‑foot buffer the masonry wall would sit, whether the city could mandate wall placement in the PUD rather than leave it optional, how tree mitigation and landscape inspection would be enforced, and whether overnight machinery and truck staging could be limited. Staff said that the city requires a landscape inspection before any certificate of occupancy and that mitigation measures must meet tree‑replacement standards (for evergreen screening the city requires minimum caliper and height specifications).

Mayor Morgan and other council members said they wanted to give neighbors and the owner an opportunity to resolve outstanding details. The council voted to approve the rezoning on first reading but declined to dispense with a second reading; the mayor said councilmembers will meet with the owner and staff to try to convert some PUD “may” language to “shall” requirements (for example, mandating the masonry wall be at the northern edge of the 25‑foot buffer so trees are between homes and the wall).

The petition presented by residents requested several specific conditions, including a 25‑foot landscape buffer, expedited planting of evergreen trees at 10–12 feet in height, an 8‑foot masonry wall set 25 feet inside the property line, limits on truck idling and staging within 150 feet of residential property lines, and noise and daytime‑only construction restrictions. Staff indicated some of those items are enforceable at the site development permit stage and that new buildings would not receive certificates of occupancy until landscaping and other on‑site inspections pass.

The first‑reading vote on the PUD was unanimous; the council also agreed to additional outreach to the directly affected residents and to resend notices and emails before the second reading. The item will return to council at a later meeting for final action after staff and council negotiations with the property owner.