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Council approves variance for driveway through riparian buffer with strict conditions
Summary
Council granted a variance to allow a residential driveway to cross a riparian buffer at 766 Anfield Pass, citing constrained lot access; members pressed for minimization of disturbance, monitoring during construction and restoration for any damage outside the approved corridor.
The Bulverde City Council approved a variance permitting construction of a residential driveway within a riparian buffer at 766 Anfield Pass after staff and the applicant described limited disturbance measures and a low-water crossing design.
Staff said the lot’s frontage is entirely within a drainage easement and riparian buffer, leaving no other practical access for the parcel. The applicant’s engineer described an alignment designed to minimize tree removal and to include a 24-inch culvert at the low point to convey flows. “We’re limiting disturbance to the minimum area necessary to provide a low-water crossing,” the engineer said during the presentation.
Council members pressed for assurances on stormwater, drainage analysis and construction monitoring. One council member recounted personal flood damage in the area and emphasized the need to protect neighbors and the riparian buffer. Staff said they would periodically inspect the site during construction and take enforcement action if activity extended outside the approved corridor. The council moved, seconded and voted to approve the variance, with the council clarifying that approval covered only the driveway corridor and that any off-corridor damage would prompt enforcement and required restoration.
The applicant and staff said the single-family residence would be sited outside the buffer and the proposed driveway would be a chip-seal approach with a concrete apron at the right-of-way. Staff estimated the total disturbance for the driveway at roughly 6,500–6,800 square feet and said a full drainage study was not required for the residential project, though engineers calculated culvert sizing to convey upstream flow.
