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Residents and environmental advocates urge Hays council to oppose Milestonerequest for higher impervious cover
Summary
Multiple residents and environmental groups told the City of Hays council that MilestoneDevelopment's request for an SOS ordinance amendment to allow up to 25% impervious cover (rather than 15%) would harm groundwater recharge and set a risky precedent; they urged the council not to support a service-extension letter to the City of Austin.
Public commenters pressed the City of Hays council to withhold support for a Milestone Development request that would effectively seek higher allowable impervious cover and extensions of City of Austin services.
Carol Pennington told the council that Milestonehas applied for a MUD and is seeking an amendment to the SOS ordinance to allow "25% impervious cover versus the 15% under the SOS ordinance." She warned that land currently with little impervious cover would lose recharge to the Edwards Aquifer and described proposed "parkland" that, she said, would be recorded as a conservation easement rather than public parkland.
Other residents echoed that concern about water and precedent. Darlene Stock, introduced by the mayor, warned the council that increased density and smaller lot sizes would raise property values and taxes and could force longtime residents to sell, calling the proposal a potential "Pandora's box." An executive director for the Safe Harbor Creek Association said the planning commission had postponed Milestone's plan and questioned why an exception to impervious-cover limits would be appropriate when "no one else has" received that relief.
Speakers also said city commissions were not given complete information; an environmental commissioner who spoke as an individual said some boards were "deceived" because staff did not make clear that an SOS amendment would be required to approve the development.
The speakers urged council members to press Austin officials, provide written concerns to watershed staff, and avoid supporting Milestone's request for a services letter to Austin until the questions about water, impervious cover, and mitigation are resolved.
What happens next: the council tabled the item for a follow-up special meeting so members can gather additional information before taking a formal position.
