Commission recommends PUD amendment to allow ESD 6 fire station on Flint Rock Road

The Zoning Advisory and Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that City Council approve a planned-unit-development amendment to allow a Travis County ESD 6 fire station on a 3.09-acre tract at 15617 Flint Rock Road. The staff report described a request to change the site’s zoning designation and to accommodate a fire station by eliminating phasing requirements and allowing a height increase.

Dan Brown, engineer for Travis County ESD 6, said the site is desirable because it would relieve call volume at a nearby station and reduce response times on 620 and Flint Rock. “This station would be alleviating the call volume at the station not far from from here on Bloemens Crossing,” Brown said during his presentation. Staff noted the PUD change would also include a parkland fee-in-lieu payment of $567,000 to the city and seek authority for a height up to 50 feet where the standard is 32 feet.

Chief Robert Abbott of Lake Travis Fire Rescue told commissioners the department’s current planning envisions a two-story station and estimated a construction timeline that aims for completion around 2030, with planning and lead time beginning one to two years earlier. Abbott said some two-story stations are being designed with slides instead of traditional fire poles for safety.

Commission discussion focused on zoning criteria and whether the requested changes meet the comprehensive-plan objectives for fire infrastructure. A committee member moved the recommendation to council; another seconded. The commission recorded the motion as passing unanimously.

Next steps: the commission’s recommendation will go to City Council for a final decision; staff said the council will receive the record and the PUD amendment package for review.