Diamond Ridge residents protest patio home plan
By DAVID LOWE Staff Writer

A crowd of Diamond Ridge subdivision residents objected last Monday night to a planned development that would bring 35 new residences, including 21 patio homes, to Diamond Ridge Subdivision, Phase Two.

Because the Planning & Zoning Commission tabled a preliminary plat of the nine-acre proposed development, which lies in Lampasas' extraterritorial jurisdiction west of Shepherd Lane and north of the existing Diamond Ridge, the Lampasas City Council could not take formal action on the subdivision plans.

City zoning ordinances define patio homes as structures of at least 800 square feet on lots of 4,500 square feet or more. The homes, which have to be set at least 10 feet from the adjoining lot, have small yards to appeal to property owners who want to limit lawn care.

Patio home owners must have two parking spaces -- at least one covered -- on their lots, and a patio home development must have one additional parking space per two units. An off-site, paved parking lot within 600 feet of the lots can satisfy the additional parking space requirement.

Diamond Ridge resident Jimmie Allison said she worries her property values will decrease if small lots develop directly behind existing homes.

"I do worry about what it's going to do to my property value," she said. "This is something that's going to be there forever. I think we should look long and hard before we do mixed zoning."

The proposed Phase Two development would be zoned for both patio homes and larger residences, which would fall under single family-10 zoning -- the same zoning that applies to Diamond Ridge, Phase One. Before the announcement of Phase Two plans, current Diamond Ridge property owners expected any new development near their neighborhood to be SF-10 with large, single-family homes, Ms. Allison said.

Valerie Dickens, representing 4H Development, Ltd., said every lot in the proposed development will be 6,000 square feet or more, and each housing unit will have at least 1,600 square feet.

"This is not going to be low-cost, minimum-size housing," she said. "I think this is a well-planned, well-thought-out development with homes twice as large as the minimum. This will be an enhancement to Diamond Ridge, Phase One."

Based on current construction costs, even the least valuable home in the development would appraise for more than any home on Yellowstone Drive, Ms. Dickens added.

Ron Langley, who lives on Yellowstone Drive, said unless the City Council increases size requirements on patio homes, some buyers still will try to build just 800-square-foot buildings on their lots.

"If that's what the zoning is, somebody will do it," he said.

Langley asked the council to raise the minimum structure size to 1,600 square feet. Deed restrictions could address size concerns just as effectively, Ms. Dickens said, without placing undue burdens on future patio home developments in other parts of Lampasas.

Residents also voiced safety concerns about the one-way, gated alleys that would lead to the patio homes' rear-entry garages and said the new develop- ment would increase traffic around existing Diamond Ridge homes.

"We're talking about 50 or 60 extra cars," Ms. Allison said. "That's a lot of traffic."

The City Council took no action on the proposed subdivision and tabled discussion of reducing the patio home front yard setback from 25 feet to 20. The council will discuss minimum block length and the definition of patio homes before reconsidering the matter. The council also can consider requiring two-car garages at all patio homes, Mayor Pro Tem John Cole said.

In other business, the council unanimously approved an agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation for a $300,000 Aviation Grant for the construction of 10 new hangars at Lampasas Municipal Airport. Additional funds for the $550,000 project will come from a $100,000 annual TxDOT ramp grant and $150,000 in debt issues from 2006.

Cost estimates for the project are at least two years old, City Manager Michael Stoldt said. If the budget estimates prove too low, the city likely will have to provide additional funding or reduce the scope of the project, he added.

The council also voted 7-0 to authorize the city manager to apply for Partnership in Parks funding through the Lower Colorado River Authority for the sports complex on Farm-to-Market Road 580 West. The grant application is for $200,000, which could help the city raise the $500,000 in local funds it will need to complete the project, Stoldt said.

Lampasas already has received a Texas Parks and Wildlife grant for the sports complex, which could help with the LCRA application, the city manager said.

"I understand LCRA looks very favorably at being able to team up with Texas Parks and Wildlife grants," said Stoldt.

In addition, the council unanimously approved $327,500 -- $315,976 with a contingency of $11,524 -- for the 2008 street paving, maintenance and drainage program. Work designated "total reconstruction" will take place on portions of Rice, East First and Mill streets, as well as on West Avenue D and East Avenue I. West Avenue B from Walnut Street to Spring Street, about five blocks, will receive a 1.5-inch hot-mix overlay.

Emulsion seal coat-only projects will take place on portions of Skyview, Landon, Acorn, Matthews, Cameron and Bigham streets.

From the intersections with Fairview and Willis, both West Avenue A and West North Avenue will receive alternate seal coats after the replacement of water lines.

Curbing, sidewalk and drainage improvements will take place at Water Street from Chestnut to Western Street, in the 600 block of South Howe Street and from Second Street north toward Hanna Springs Intermediate School.

Also, the council unanimously OK'd appointments to the Civic Center Committee. Former Mayor Jack Calvert will chair the committee for the approximately $1 million project, and David Whitis will serve as co-chairman.

Other committee members named are Steve Hudson, Jill Jones and Nancy Gray. Mayor Judith Hetherly will serve in an advisory role, and City Secretary Cherry Hargrove will serve as staff secretery for the Civic Center Committee.