Council sends proposed Boggy Ford Hotel rezoning back to Planning & Zoning after residents raise height, traffic and water concerns

Lago Vista — City councilors on Feb. 20 agreed to send a developer’s Planned Development District (PDD) rezoning request for 19708 Boggy Ford Road back to the Planning & Zoning Commission for more detailed plans and binding commitments after an extended public hearing.

The item before council was a request to rezone the annexed property to a PDD that would allow a full‑service Hotel Indigo with associated casitas, a restaurant, event space and spa. Staff told council the project remains under review for a traffic impact analysis (Friese Nichols), a minor plat and drainage review; council discussion made clear the PDD decision would not automatically approve site development details.

“The concept plan is a starting point,” city planner Jordan told council, warning that site development, water modeling and engineering are required before permits can be issued. Jordan added that the city standard impervious cover is 60% but the applicant is proposing 37%, and that the detailed plan accompanying a final zoning action is the instrument that locks in technical elements.

Councilor Paul Prince, who repeatedly pressed the developer and staff on height and siting, said the scale proposed raised neighborhood alarms. “A 90‑room hotel seems like a pretty big endeavor for the city of Lago Vista and especially on that small property,” Prince said. He and other council members emphasized they were not being asked to grant final approvals that night, but to consider rezoning scope.

The property owner and developer, who spoke during the staff‑question period, said the franchise requires a minimum of about 80 rooms and that the design approach and resort program (larger rooms, an event center) drive both height and room count. “The Hotel Indigo, they have a restriction of, 80 and above is the restriction that I can go with,” the developer said, adding that market feasibility studies and third‑party operators support projected revenues and hotel demand.

Residents who live near the site told council they appreciate the economic case for a hotel but oppose the proposed location and scale. Speakers cited worries about traffic at Boggy Ford and Lohman, stormwater and drainage impacts on adjacent lots, water consumption and LUE allocations, wildfire evacuation and the visual impact of a 65‑foot building near single‑family neighborhoods. Multiple residents asked for either a different site or tighter, enforceable limits attached to any zoning change.

Planning and Zoning commissioners also signaled in earlier meetings that they recommended the PDD zoning but did not intend to approve detailed plan elements shown in concept drawings. Councilors said they want a concept/detailed plan and a development agreement to be attached to any PDD action so that density, height and infrastructure commitments are enforceable rather than illustrative.

Council consensus at the end of the hearing was procedural: remand the matter to Planning & Zoning with direction that the developer provide a detailed concept/detailed plan, demonstrate water/sewer modeling results (LUEs) and an accepted Traffic Impact Analysis, and propose enforceable phasing or a development agreement to address neighborhood impacts. There was no final rezoning vote that night.

What’s next: Planning & Zoning will have an opportunity to receive the additional materials, hold a public hearing and forward a revised recommendation to council. Staff said they expect a TIA and water model to be completed as the applicant advances detailed engineering; councilors asked staff to insist on specificity about maximum building elevation relative to the property’s peak when the developer returns.