Subdivision changes surprise neighbors

A number of surprised neighbors showed up at the Dripping Springs Planning & Zoning meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 27, to publicly question changes in the proposed concept plan of a new subdivision located at 14455 FM 1826, which borders their properties.

The new plan being considered for the 107.19 acre parcel of land, called the “Forbes Tract,” proposes 78 single-family 1-acre residential lots, with 7 connecting streets. This land runs along a flood plain with a bubbling creek, which also runs through the Radha Madhav Dham Hindu Temple property on Barsana Rd. Residents who live in the area assumed the Forbes Tract was Temple property.

“Neighbors were provided with an elaborate plan for a high-level Hindu restaurant, and herb farm on this property in 2002,” John Serur, the neighborhood spokesman at the 

P & Z public hearing, said.  “We like the Barsana Dham, because they seemed the best land stewards in Hays County.”

 When the Dham was contacted for comment by the Century News, Patel (no first name given), a board member and spokesman for the Dham, who has been affiliated with the Hindu Temple for 18 years, immediately responded and said, “The Temple has never owned that property. It must have been somebody else.” 

Originally called Barsana Dham, Radha Madhav Dham was established in 1990 and is the main U.S. Center of “Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat,” the oldest Hindu Temple in Texas, and largest in North America. The name was changed in 2011. It is located on 200 acres of land in Hays County, south of Austin on FM 1826.

Now the residents in this area, who live on 5-acre tracts in a high-end Dripping Springs ETJ real estate community, have questions and concerns about what they say is “a new picture,” with plans for condensed housing, and how it will affect their home values, traffic, and natural views.

However, the applicant, Pablo H. Martinez, did not show up at the P & Z meeting to give a presentation of the “new picture.” A variance has been requested, by Martinez, to change the minimum residential lot size from 1.5 to 1.0, in compliance with county regulations, but a preliminary plat application has not been submitted to the city staff for review.

“Without a presentation, there is not enough of a concept to support,” Commissioner Martin Garza said.

Commissioner Mim James added, “Without a preliminary view of the plat, flood plain issues, maps, and limited site development, the public knows about as much as P & Z.”

James made a motion to table the concept plan until further information is addressed by a presentation provided by the applicant. It was unanimously approved by the commission.