By now you’ve probably noticed the many “Save Rollingwood” signs up in our neighborhood.  You may also have seen Rollingwood Mayor Dyson’s op-ed in the Statesman urging the City to adopt a future land-use development plan.  You may understandably be wondering what the heck this is all about.

​

Well, it’s about deciding what kind of future we want for Rollingwood and—just as important—what kind of future we don’t want. Does tomorrow’s Rollingwood resemble the community we have and love today?  Or does it become more of an urban center—like what we can now see on South Lamar or East Riverside with three and four-story “mixed use” apartment and condominium complexes lining the main roads, defining the landscape, and tripling the City's population? 

​

Background: How did we get here? 
To kick off Rollingwood's planning process, the City hired a developer/consultant who put together a survey that some residents filled out.  The survey asked about various items residents want to see in our neighborhood (e.g. parks, sidewalks, and restaurants).  The consultant then presented a "report" to the City Council, but that report bore almost no connection to the community's survey responses.  Instead, the consultant proposed three future land-use "scenarios" to encourage commercial development of Bee Caves Road by upzoning nearly every tract of land on both sides of Bee Caves Road within the Rollingwood city limits: 

• "Scenario A" increases the amount of building space on each Bee Caves Road tract without increasing the current two-story height limits behind Rollingwood homes;

• "Scenario B" increases the amount of building space on each tract and increases building height limits to three stories (and is projected to add more than 750 residential apartment or condo units to Rollingwood); and

• "Scenario C" increases the amount of building space on each tract and increases building height limits to four stories (and is projected to add more than 1,000 residential apartment or condo units to Rollingwood).  

​

The purpose of this upzoning process, according to some, is to find a "revenue neutral" way to pay for a long list of municipal needs and wants. Perhaps that includes new drainage and water infrastructure, a new City Hall, a new Police Station, and a newly renovated park.  But the consultant’s “Scenario B” and “Scenario C” aren’t revenue neutral.  If our population doubles or triples, so too will the budgets of our police department and city administration (along with the price tags of new buildings for each).  If we build three and four-story apartment and condo complexes on every tract along Bee Caves Road, our City’s water resources will very likely be taxed beyond their limits, our tree canopy and wildlife harmed, and the wooded views of many of our neighbors—who bought homes in reliance on the long-settled zoning of adjacent properties—replaced with the backsides of three and four-story buildings. Such a seismic change to our City will also very likely require a new elementary school and the widening of Bee Caves Road, among many other unintended and expensive consequences.  Nothing about this is revenue neutral; these proposed changes come with sizable costs—financial and otherwise.

 

What has also largely been left out of the City’s discussion is that redeveloping Bee Caves Road into the next South Lamar isn’t our only potential source of funding.  Matching grants for infrastructure improvements may be available from federal and state sources.  Many cities bond large infrastructure expenses to spread out repayment over time.  A sizable amount of the projected funding from the consultant’s proposals can be raised—according to the consultant—without increasing current Bee Caves Road building heights.  And before we give away so much of what we love about Rollingwood, we should at least have a robust and inclusive conversation about which items on our wish list are “needs” and which are better characterized as “wants.”

 

We also don’t have to paint Bee Caves Road with a one-size-fits-all, mega-upzoning brush.  We can and should instead have a smart, reasoned, and targeted approach to land planning that looks for places where permitting higher building heights doesn’t burden our neighbors, and for opportunities to reduce regulations and restrictions that we are told dissuade renewed development within current height limits.  And our approach should be community-centered and citizen-driven.  If there is a role for a paid consultant, it’s to help us put our vision into action—not to tell us what our vision is or ought to be.

​

Several dozen Timberline-area residents will most directly shoulder the burdens of the consultant's plans—losing the wooded views that convinced many of them to invest in Rollingwood in the first place.  The backyard views of dozens of Rollingwood homes will be replaced by the back of three and four-story apartment buildings.  Some of our newest neighbors have built dream homes with views that will be swiftly wiped away.  Others are in the building process now and still others are drawing up plans.  And some of our neighbors have enjoyed their home’s views since they moved here in the 1960s.  But we will all be impacted—every single one of us, in every corner of our City, who enjoys the sense of community, the natural spaces, and the family-centered charm that our small-town-within-a-big-city provides.  And with every added resident, municipal building, and apartment complex comes the increased costs of servicing them.

​

Change is nothing new and we aren't against development.  But instead of taking a chainsaw to Rollingwood, let's operate with a scalpel and take a modest and sensible tract-by-tract approach that encourages upzoning where it makes the most sense and doesn't impose burdens on neighboring homeowners.  If we need to revisit regulations to encourage redevelopment within two-story height limits, let's do just that.  But there is no reason to destroy the community we love in exchange for the promise of an easy buck, and that's why more than 350 Rollingwood homeowners have already lined up against “Scenario B” and “Scenario C."

​

UPDATE:  The Rollingwood City Council has responded to the citizens' calls for a more reasonable plan for the future of Rollingwood.  The City Council put together a "Strike Force" of Rollingwood residents and stakeholders to put together a draft comprehensive plan.  In addition, the Council signaled that it was not comfortable with any recommendation that would increase the number of stories for buildings on the north side of Bee Caves Road on lots adjacent to residential properties.  The "Strike Force" has met several times (although, unfortunately, the consultant continues to push for intensive development on both sides of Bee Caves Road).

​

How can you help today?
Join us in opposing the consultant's most intensive "scenarios" that would radically and permanently change the character of our community.  Please:

1. Join our list of residents against the mass upzoning of Rollingwood lots by connecting with us here.  If you would like a yard sign, just request one in the "message" section when you connect with us and we'll drop one by your house.

2. E-mail the Rollingwood Mayor, City Council, and "Strike Force" to communicate your opposition to the consultant’s most intensive development "scenarios" for the future of Rollingwood.  To do so, email Assistant City Administrator Ashley Wayman at awayman@rollingwoodtx.gov and ask her to forward your email to the City Council and Strike Force.

3. Talk with your Rollingwood friends and neighbors about this critical issue and ask them to join us too.

​

We greatly appreciate you.

​

Sincerely,

Your Rollingwood Neighbors

​