McCormick Ranch approved by city

McCormick Ranch — a proposed 131 home development on 211 acres at the southeast corner of Quinlan Park Road and Selma Hughes Park Road — was approved on Jan. 7.
The City of Austin Zoning and Platting Commission reconsidered the application from

Thompson Realty. The exclusive development has 2,600 feet of frontage on Lake Austin.

Four Points residents and the Steiner Ranch Neighborhood Association attended the hearing. They wanted the city to account for traffic, safety and services.

“We have poor emergency egress options from Steiner. And our infrastructure for roads and schools are overloaded already,” said SRNA Chairman Brian Thompto, in an earlier report with Four Points New.

But the McCormick Ranch plan was approved as the zoning commission determined that it did not have a legal ability to deny the permit, Thompto said.

McCormick_Ranch_in_Steiner_ranch_close
More coverage in Four Points News in the Jan. 15 edition.
Here are some comments from SRNA Chairman Brian Thompto:
Thank you to all those who came to the meeting Tuesday night – especially the folks from River Ridge area who did a great job of expressing very valid concerns related to emergency egress, access, and traffic. The McCormick Ranch plan was approved as the zoning commission determined that it did not have a legal ability to deny the permit. However, it was clear that we have broad support on the commission for our concerns. Your voice was heard and the zoning commission, city staff and others have an improved appreciation for challenges we face in Steiner Ranch and the consequences of not proactively managing improvements to infrastructure to support all the development that is getting approved in the Four Points area. In fact, the commissioners directly addressed this issue and urged us to get involved with shaping future policies to this end.

SRNA was also able to speak briefly with one of the developers after the meeting and they were open to taking a look at some of the specific safety concerns related to the entrances along Quinlan Park Rd. We will work with residents to also follow up with the county regarding other concerns related to increased traffic along Quinlan.

For those not familiar with the legal basis for the commissions decision, the Steiner Ranch Development Agreement was signed between the city in 2001 and specifies specific rights for developers in the Steiner Ranch peninsula. Even though we are near the end of development under the agreement, we are not completely done, there are two apartment complexes already approved and a pending duplex complex proposed for the corner of RM 620 and Quinlan Park Rd. 

We will need your support to work through issues related to the final developments being planned – you can also get involved by attending the upcoming CAMPO traffic meeting and staying in tune w/ developments via SRNA.