Naked City

Hays County residents opposed to new road development won an initial victory Monday with the formal announcement that an extension of MoPac south to San Marcos has been scrapped from the county's 25-year transportation plan.

The deletion came on the heels of widespread protests from Hays residents, and, most notably, hundreds of Wimberley residents who feared that new roads would lead to increased suburban development for Austin commuters.

About 80 people attended the last public meeting on the 2025 Multi-Corridor Transportation Plan Monday before the Commissioners Court in San Marcos. Commissioners voted to form a 19-member Blue Ribbon Committee, appointed by the commissioners and County Judge Jim Powers, to study ways to improve the plan. Appointments will be made in the next couple of weeks, and the group is expected to work for at least six months on plan revisions that include ideas for maintaining open space and planning for other environmental impacts of growth.

"I think the Blue Ribbon Committee is a great idea if, in fact, they appoint some people who are not rubber stampers," says Erin Foster, co-chair of the Hays County Water Planning Partnership (HCWPP). "But, of course, we're highly suspicious." The HCWPP has been battling county officials over the plan, claiming that local residents didn't have any meaningful opportunity for input on the document. The road recommendations will be used as official input for the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization's 25-year plan, which helps determine where state and federal funding is allocated.

HCWPP members still object to roadways in the northern section of the county, which they say will essentially be feeders to MoPac, which will still extend to County Road 150. Although the large majority of the crowd Monday opposed such new roads, several residents spoke in favor of planning for growth by upgrading existing roads and adding new lanes, since planners predict the Hays County population will double to 175,000 by 2025.

Meanwhile, HCWPP members were scheduled to meet Tuesday with Austin Assistant City Manager Toby Futrell regarding the city's negotiations with Gary Bradley over the Spillar Ranch proposal. The proposed development would put at least 700 homes, a golf course, and a hotel at the site, which lies just east of Circle C near the northern Hays County line. Bradley has asked the city to provide water and sewer service in exchange for his selling adjacent property to be preserved as open space.