Buda denies West Oak development

BUDA — On Tuesday, April 2, Buda City Council voted unanimously to deny a development agreement between the city of Buda and Buda Venture Real Estate. Following an approval recommendation by the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z), the council heard a presentation by Development Services director Angela Kennedy and representatives of the suggested development, West Oak. West Oak, which was proposed to be located on the west side of FM 1626 at Cole Springs Road in Buda, is a 600-unit multifamily apartment complex with between 100,000 and 120,000 square feet of commercial space. Additionally, Buda Venture Real Estate proposed six acres of publicly accessible open space, which would be privately maintained, two public roads, a north-to-south connection along the west property line and $7 million in traffic improvements to the area. Prior to the council meeting, on March 26, P&Z voted 4-2 to recommend the project to council, with Jim Ladner and David Nuckels opposing. Following the presentation to council, a public hearing was opened, where numerous residents took to the podium to request denial of the project. “This is the most disingenuous, dishonest, inappropriate project I have ever seen in Buda, Texas … ‘No negative impact on traffic,' seriously? That’s over 4,000 trips a day,” Ladner said. “These guys live out of state. They are going to take the money and they are going to run. All the infrastructure they are going to provide, the damage they are going to do is going to be a thousand-fold.” “Being on the P&Z, I have bever been more suspicious of a vote … I’ve been on the losing ends of votes … but these guys had access to us for over a week, one-on-one with a team of people,” Ladner continued. “I don’t like the fact that they can lobby us individually with a team of people to come out and basically peer-pressure us into saying ‘Yes.’” “I am pro-development, but it has to be sensible development. It has to work; it has to make sense. This project doesn’t make sense,” said Matt Debow, a Buda resident for more than 15 years. “My favorite part about Buda is that it does not feel like a big city … Buda is starting to feel like a big city, I don’t like that. I want to feel safe,” said 12-year-old Addison McNeight. “I have a few concerns and one of them is the traffic … I’m 14, so I’m going to be driving very soon and it kind of scares me how heavy the traffic is going to be,” Nathan McNeight said. P&Z member Virginia Jureka voiced her concerns as well, “Unfortunately, I was not here that night when this project was presented, otherwise I would have been the third vote against because this is not what we signed up for. We have a big sign on the water tank that says, ‘Breathe easy here.’ It’s getting harder and harder to breathe in this town.” Resident Tommy Seargeant spoke in favor of the development. “The tax revenue that this project will generate will help the schools and the county and the city. Just, overall, I’m in favor of it.” Following a discussion in executive session, council reconvened and voted unanimously to deny the project and take no action on associated annexation and zoning change items. To listen to the full discussion, visit bit.ly/3xC0CoR .