A child care center over the aquifer needs a rare Save Our Springs exception. Staff want the vote moved to Nov. 19

A rare exception to Austin's Save Our Springs ordinance may be delayed again. City staff have asked the City Council to push back a hearing on a site-specific amendment for 5811 Southwest Parkway, an abandoned mobile home park in the Barton Springs Zone, from Nov. 5 to Nov. 19, according to a postponement memo dated Oct. 19.

The property owner wants to replace the old mobile home park with a child care center. That matters beyond one lot because the SOS ordinance, adopted by voters in 1992, allows no variances. The only way around its limits is for the council to amend the ordinance itself for a single site, and that takes a supermajority vote.

What is proposed

The 3.026-acre site sits in the Barton Creek watershed, over the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone, in District 8, according to the staff presentation. It was built as a mobile home park in the 1970s, before the SOS ordinance, and before the area was annexed. It has no water quality treatment, and its septic systems and drain fields are failing, staff say.

The SOS ordinance would limit new development there to 15% impervious cover, measured by net site area, or about 0.45 acres. The site already has 33.9% impervious cover. The amendment would allow 33.5% of gross site area, about 1.01 acres. That is slightly less pavement and roof than exists today, but more than twice what SOS would otherwise allow.

The staff recommendation supports the amendment with conditions, including:

• SOS "non-degradation" water quality treatment for the whole site;
• removal of the septic fields and connection to city wastewater;
• a two-star Austin Energy Green Building rating and bird-friendly design;
• no artificial turf, native plants only and an integrated pest management plan;
• larger replacement trees (four-inch caliper instead of three), two EV chargers and interpretive signs;
• compliance with Hill Country Roadway rules.

The child care center would have a covered play area, a sport court and parking.

How it got here

The council started this process seven years ago. On Jan. 31, 2019, it passed a resolution initiating amendments "as minimally required" for this site, telling staff to allow no increase in impervious cover and to maximize environmental protection. The owner filed a site plan in February 2025, the review sheet says.

The Environmental Commission recommended approval with conditions 8-0 on Aug. 19, and the council's Codes and Ordinances Joint Committee did the same 4-0 on Sept. 16. The item was first set for Sept. 24 and was postponed to Nov. 5. Staff now say it must go to the Planning Commission on Nov. 10 before the council acts.

What our records add

Two records, one site. Our records hold two versions of the item: the September posting, 26-2557, and the November posting, 26-2677, which carries the staff presentation and postponement memo. Neither has a council vote yet.

Another SOS item is pending. A separate proposal to amend the Circle C SOS settlement, filed in August, would allow more housing density on about 246 acres near MoPac and SH 45. Our records show no council vote on it yet.

A district in transition. The site is in District 8, where Council Member Paige Ellis is leaving office in January. Voters are choosing between Selena Xie and Jeffery Bowen on Nov. 3. Our District 8 guide covers the race. If the vote happens Nov. 19, Ellis would still be in office for it, since her term runs into January.

What's next

The Planning Commission takes up the amendment Nov. 10. If the council grants the staff request, the public hearing moves to Nov. 19. Approval would take a supermajority of the council, staff say.