By LYNETTE HAALAND
Four Points News

The proposal to build a secondary road to Vandegrift HS is located in Travis County and goes through the Balcones Canyonland Preserve, and Brigid Shea, County Commissioner Precinct 2, said she doesn’t see how the road can happen under the current laws.

Shea said that the Travis County Commissioners, at the time Leander ISD was interested in purchasing the land in the mid 2000s, indicated that “it was not an ideal location (for a school) because of the preserve land around it could not be developed.”

A school was originally not intended for the site, Shea said. The landowner had residential or commercial development in mind at that time of the original proposal with the county.

A deal was struck with that land. “The landowners had to set aside permanent mitigation land in exchange for the land they wanted to develop,” Shea said.

By law, when land is set aside as mitigation land, it is in exchange for the approval to develop other land, Shea said.

“(LISD) purchased land for the school knowing full well that was permanent mitigation land for the preserves and could not be developed,” Shea said. “It was clear at the time, the county staff had those exact communications with staff at school district,” she added.

“The road they want to build through the preserve is permanent mitigation land declared in freeing up land where VHS is now,” Shea said.

Shea does not see how that deal can be undone.

“The swap has been made. Once you make the swap, you cannot go back and undo the swap,” Shea said.

LISD’s reason to buy the land

“In 2006, LISD had an option to bus kids to Cedar Park High School or to build a new school,” said Dan Troxell, superintendent of LISD. He gave the background at the public forum hosted by LISD at VHS on May 30.

LISD made the decision to build a school in the south and 100 acres were needed. The district was considering purchasing the site where Concordia University Texas now sits but the property sold.

The land where Vandegrift sits today had its environmental clearances and was the size the district needed.

“That is why the school’s here,” Troxell said. “The district is asked, ‘Why was it put in the present location?’ but there was one site available. There was no other place for a high school in the south.”

The land was purchased by LISD in 2006 and construction began on FPMS and VHS in 2008.

“It is absolutely beautiful but it does present its traffic issues,” Troxell said.

“I cannot think of a more important protection than this one here,” Troxell said. “Nothing is more important than the safety of our kids, faculty, and the community that lives here.”

Meeting with USFWS
LISD is now trying to build a second access road. It is seeking an Endangered Species Act (ESA) permit to construct a proposed one-mile, $15 million-plus road behind VHS.

This would support some 3,700 students and staff who attend and work at VHS and FPMS. The additional road would address traffic safety concerns and provide an emergency exit.

LISD launched the #BuildTheRoad social media campaign on May 30 in an effort to get Washington D.C. lawmakers’ attention on the need for the additional road.
This week, Sept. 13, LISD is scheduled to meet with local representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services to review the district’s proposal.

Balcones history
But Shea said that many residents in the area may not know the history of the 20-year-old Balcones Canyonlands Preserve. She is passionate about it and its protections to endangered species and the environment.

Travis County partnered with the federal government to create the preserve “that’s been the model program in the nation for a partnership, and for the need to protect the species,” Shea said.

According to the Austin Water website: The Balcones Canyonlands Preserve (BCP) is a system of preserves that exists as a conservation effort operating under a regional 10(a) permit issued under the Endangered Species Act by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
The permit was issued jointly to the BCP’s two managing partners, the City of Austin and Travis County, in 1996, though several other organizations own and manage land dedicated to the BCP. Ultimately, the goal is to set aside 30,428 acres in western Travis County as habitat for eight endangered species-two neotropical migratory songbirds and six karst invertebrates-and 27 species of concern, the site states.

Shea added that the preserve is mitigation for all that development that has already occurred. The preserve guidelines indicate that new roads cannot be built, which would fragment the land set aside.

Shea has respect for the Endangered Species Act and environmental protections, and thinks that the proposed road would roll back progress on those two fronts.

“I think they (those considering this road) should understand the history. It was their choice to put (VHS) there,” Shea said.

Shea said she has heard some information about the Leander ISD letter writing and social media campaign launched in late May to contact lawmakers in Washington D.C.

“I’ve heard some information. I don’t have all of the details,” Shea said. There is a perception, in some of the statements she has heard, that student and staff safety are in danger without a second road, she said. And in cases, it is implied that “Travis County is endangering the lives of young people,” Shea said. “I don’t think that that is a fair description.”

Travis County traffic engineers keep safety at the forefront of all of their projects, she said. The county has already improved the turn lanes and created double turn lanes leading into and out of Vandegrift.

Other solutions
“I know that there are issues with access and I think there are a variety of (additional) solutions,” Shea said.

She proposes more buses, especially during the morning rush hour, if the biggest issue is vehicles driving to the campuses for drop off and pick up.

The bypass road connecting RM 620 to RM 2222 would also provide relief. “We will be spending millions of dollars to build this shortcut from 2222 (to 620),” Shea said.

Shea does not have a time table update on the bypass road but preliminary engineering was being done and the recently passed City of Austin bond will fund part of the cost of the construction.

“I am pushing CAMPO and TxDOT to move more quickly on the bypass at 620/22222. Especially for families from Steiner, the bypass will be a shortcut to get to the school,” Shea said.

“We are awaiting funding from TxDOT and that is also in the works I’m told,” Shea said.

Wildfire
Additionally, Shea has heard some feedback in case a wildfire starts in the preserve or in the area.

“When I have talked with experts on wildfire, the last place they want to send anyone is the middle of the preserve (for example, on the proposed road),” Shea said

Additionally, if there was a wildfire in the portion of the preserve located in Four Points, and depending on the direction of the fire, “VHS would likely be an evacuation center because of the buffered space, ball fields and cleared land,” Shea said.