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Board approves variance for Austin Area School for Dyslexics with condition barring Hillview access
Summary
The Board of Adjustments approved a variance to bring the Austin Area School for Dyslexics site into compliance, conditioned on prohibiting curb cuts/access on Hillview Road and coordinating with city transportation staff to pursue no‑parking signage to preserve fire access.
The City of Austin Board of Adjustments approved a variance for the Austin Area School for Dyslexics (also referenced as Ross and Saunders School) at 2615 Hillview Road, subject to conditions intended to protect neighborhood streets and emergency access.
Nicole Mead, an attorney with Husch Blackwell representing the school, told the board the site's legal and plat constraints make the pavement‑width requirement inapplicable because the parcel is prohibited by a recorded plat note from taking access on Hillview. "We are asking to have one variance to try to bring the site into compliance," Mead said, explaining that the site has been operated as a school for decades and that all legal access is dedicated to Exposition Boulevard.
Neighbors and the West Austin Neighborhood Group signaled conditional support provided the school never takes access from Hillview. Neighbor Darcy Gardner said the neighborhood would back the school "as long as Hillview will not be accessed by the school in any way at all." Another neighbor asked that any approval specify no curb cuts on Hillview.
Board member Von Owen moved to approve with conditions prohibiting curb cuts or access on Hillview Road and requesting that the school pursue no‑parking signage (to preserve fire and emergency access) on the school side of the street between the dimension lines shown in the presentation. Members read the required findings into the record, citing the unique plat restriction that dedicates access to Exposition Boulevard and noting that the variance would not create new traffic impacts on Hillview because no access there would be permitted.
The board called the roll and granted the variance with the stated conditions. Staff was asked to coordinate with the applicant and the transportation department on the no‑parking request and to include the access prohibition as a condition of the variance.
Next steps: staff to document the findings and conditions in the case file and to coordinate with transportation on no‑parking signage and the applicant's conditional use permit process.
