Council adopts PUD amendment allowing medium-density multifamily option at 901 East Old Settlers Boulevard amid neighbor traffic concerns

The Round Rock City Council approved a major amendment to the planned unit development at 901 East Old Settlers Boulevard that adds a medium-density multifamily option in place of the previously contemplated structured-parking, high-density plan.

Planning staff described the amendment as adding a second development pathway that would permit 3- and 4-story multifamily buildings with surface parking and stricter setback and buffering requirements along the southern property line to increase compatibility with the adjacent single-family neighborhood. Staff said the medium-density option reduces potential maximum units by about 90 compared with the high-density option and retains similar parking-ratio requirements intended to prevent spillover onto public streets.

Multiple residents spoke in the public hearing. Brian Allen, who lives on Clearwater Trail, said he timed a signal and recorded an average wait of "5 minutes and 13 seconds" at the West Mesa Park/Old Settlers intersection and urged the city to consider right-turn lanes and other traffic mitigations before approving development. "As we propose this apartment complex, let's at least be considerate about what we're going to have in the way of traffic," he said. Theodore Ringer Jr. and other neighbors expressed concerns about cumulative density in an area that already includes several apartment complexes and asked the council to consider additional access and gated configurations.

Staff and the developer said they will continue neighborhood outreach and that site development permits will be required; staff said the PUD includes compatibility buffers, a 15-foot landscape buffer and an 8-foot fence plus restrictions on south-facing balconies where applicable. Council proceeded to adopt the ordinance and dispensed with the second reading.