WACO, Texas (KXXV) — The Timbercrest neighborhood in East Waco will soon be home to the Hilltop Heights development after Waco's City Council gave final approval last week to begin building the 63-single family home project.
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The council's decision came despite months of opposition from neighbors who raised concerns about traffic, drainage and environmental impact.
"You feel kind of ignored," Telly Ramsey said.
Ramsey is one of the neighbors who has been speaking out against the Hilltop Heights development coming to her community.
"I laid out the same grievances that I had last time, you know, about the trees, the drainage concerns, and mostly the traffic," Ramsey said.
At last week's city council meeting, Ramsey continued her advocacy against the development.
"Timbercrest is not against growth. We are asking for growth that is responsible, safe and sustainable," Ramsey said.
The council voted to approve the final planned development unit plan, or PUD, which was the final step developer Larry Jackson needed before starting construction.
"We have met all the conditions for the planning commission and engineering. So we're just waiting on your final approval to actually get started," Jackson said at the council meeting.
Council documents show that the estimated increase in traffic from the addition will immediately add 630 vehicles per day. However, the documents state it doesn't require plans to deal with possible access problems, increased traffic congestion, or pedestrian traffic.
"It just didn't seem like any of what we had been telling them mattered," Ramsey said. "So yeah, we're disappointed, we're frustrated. It's not totally unforeseen, but it would have been nice if maybe some of the suggestions that we brought up had been listened to a little bit more, even though we knew this was kinda gonna go through."
Adjoining property owners also tried to formally petition against the development, which ultimately failed.
Waco's Development Services Director Clint Peters provided details about the approval process and conditions attached to the project.
According to Peters, there were six total public hearings between April and August regarding the Hilltop Heights zoning request. The request reduced lot widths from 50 feet to 40 feet, which resulted in an increase from 49 to 63 lots for the development.
During these hearings, residents shared their concerns through testimony, written comments and a petition. Key concerns included potential impacts on traffic, drainage, Buena Vista Park and overall neighborhood compatibility.
In response, Waco City Council approved the zoning request with specific conditions to address these concerns, including a traffic study requiring a right-in/right-out only entrance on Loop 340, sidewalks on both sides of all streets plus 600 feet of off-site sidewalk connecting to Buena Vista Park, increased building setbacks to allow adequate driveway space for vehicles in addition to proposed garages, residential façade standards to ensure house aesthetics are compatible with the neighborhood, and compliance with city site development requirements for drainage, utilities and street construction standards that minimizes impact on neighborhood.
Peters said the City Council's decision was intended to balance the need for additional housing options identified in the Waco Strategic Housing Plan with the concerns raised by nearby residents.
While the neighborhood petition was considered by council, it did not meet the legal threshold under state law and the Waco zoning ordinance to require a supermajority of five out of six votes for approval.
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