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BASTROP — The City Council postponed approving a zoning change for a new retail center until after a much-anticipated impervious- cover amendment is passed early next year.
The revised ordinance, which limits how much land can be affected by a developer’s impervious cover, is being crafted by the Planning and Zoning Commission. It is expected to be ready for council approval Jan. 14. The issue was brought up at the Dec. 10 City Council meeting, during an ordinance requesting a zoning change for FM 969 Retail Center, owned by SIS Bastrop LLC. Impervious cover is a human-made surface — roads, roofs, brick, concrete and more — that prevents or limits how much water can soak into the ground. It can also affect runoff and lead to flooding, officials said.
“You add retail buildings of about this size, you fill the land with parking and a building, and then you put a foot of water in someone’s yard that already lives there. Maybe there’s not houses directly around it today, but there will be,” said Mayor Pro Tem John Kirkland. “How do we keep from flooding the neighbors is the underlying question.”
