No action on data- center petition … yet
Cheers, tears and applause filled City Hall after council members denied a request that would have allowed high-density residential construction in an area zoned for large lot single-family homes.
However, developers pushing for the townhomes at 2103 Kent St. argued they have scaled back their plans in effort to offer an olive branch to residents.
Also during the June 25 session in the City Council chambers, the members on the dais outlined a floodrelief grant for downtown businesses but remained tight-lipped on a request for more control over data centers.
In the matter involving the neighborhood anchored around Kent Street, more than 30 community members showed up at Thursday’s meeting to oppose the zoning change proposed by Sunrise Development Group.
The developer had previously submitted a plan for 50 three-story townhomes on the 3.7-acre site, but after strong pushback at a community gathering and little support for the project from the Planning and Zoning Commission, plans changed to 13 two-story houses.
The current zoning on the parcel allows for only three houses or, alternatively, a mobile home park.
“During this meeting we listened to our neighbors and the city and went back to the drawing board and began to think of other options for this neighborhood that would be a better fit within the neighborhood,” said River Smythe, a co-owner of the property. “We come before you, City Council, with a plan that we feel extends an olive branch.”
The change in planned use was not met with the community acceptance developers hoped.
Neighbors said the plans at this phase are non-binding, adding in their view once the zoning is changed there is nothing stopping the developer from resuming the original 50-townhome project.
In addition to home density, comments from the public included their concerns about potential flooding and increased traffic with no sidewalks, as well as worries the threestory buildings would be crowded too close to property lines.
“These neighborhoods have been here well over 50 years and for these developers and local builders to think that it’s OK to come in and build 50 threestory townhomes or 13 two-story units in these established neighborhoods is absurd,” said neighbor Becky Ruzicka. “There is a place for this type of development to be built and it’s definitely not in a 50-plus-yearold neighborhood.”
This is not the first infill project developer Sunrise Development Group has worked on in Taylor.
Nor is it the first one facing objections by the surrounding community.
On June 11, the council approved a specialuse permit for an in-fill apartment building at the corner of Third and Victoria streets. The project calls for 21 apartments on a site that is less than a halfacre.
Neighbors of the old, established neighborhood objected, but after the developer made some modifications to building height and design, the council approved the permit.
Councilwoman Shelli Cobb, who lives on Kent Street, objected to the Third Street project earlier this month and on Thursday objected to the Kent Street development as well.
“I’m not willing to move forward with something with no guarantees of what it will be,” Cobb said. “I also worry that once the zoning’s granted it could just go back to 50 townhomes. Granting zoning without any real neighborhood plan for what’s going to happen there is a blank check that I’m not willing to write.”
CITY OFFERS FLOOD RELIEF
The board of Tax Increment Fund No. 1, which covers downtown, will be offering a flood relief grant program for downtown businesses hard hit by flooding during the May 19 storm.
This plan will provide $500 per business that incurred damage or $1,000 if a business had to close to the public, officials said.
Applications for the grant funds are due by July 30.
Downtown Director Niecy Baum said most downtown businesses were closed from one to three days, but some were shuttered for more than a week.
“There are several businesses that incurred severe damage from the storm. The intention was to show we are supporting them. The intention wasn’t to cover all of the damage,” Baum said.
Amanda Seeley, coowner of Taylor Feed and Supply and Boxdrop Mattress and Furniture at 102 Talbot St., said floodwaters washed through the front door of her businesses, causing about $60,000 in lost products.
She said the company made a decision not to file for insurance due to high costs and the potential for increased premiums.
“We had significant damage to our property. We had feed ruined, we had furniture ruined, we had mattresses ruined,” Seely told the council. “Thank you, guys, for even having something on the agenda for considering small businesses downtown for flood relief. Because we’re looking at a month later and we’re still trying to fix those issues.”
For more, call the Downtown Department at 512-352-3463 or visit taylortx.gov.
NO WORD ON DATA CENTER PETITION
The council entered an executive session to receive legal advice from the city attorney regarding a petition submitted by Halt Taylor Data Center Coalition but took no action in public.
The petition seeks to amend the land development code to prohibit data centers in the city unless and until a zooming district specifically created for digital infrastructure uses is adopted.
The petition was submitted during the June 11 council meeting.
Carrie D’Anna, one of the petition organizers, said they have not had any word from the city since submitting the request with 1,400 signatures.
The group is now waiting on the city clerk to verify the signatures, after which time the council can adopt the petition amendments or send it to the voters for approval in the Nov. 3 election.
Much of the controversy is prompted by the Blueprint Projects Data Centers Project coming to south Taylor to a parcel neighbors argue was meant to be parkland. The $1 billion facility is set for a 52-acre site at 1601 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and is designed to power cloud storage and artificial-intelligence functions.
