Georgetown will allow developers to apply for waivers to the city’s Courthouse View Corridor restrictions following a November 22 city council decision.
The waiver process was approved with amendments upon second reading.
Courthouse View Corridor restrictions attempt to preserve the view of the Williamson County Courthouse dome from sections of Interstate 35 and Austin Avenue by limiting building heights downtown. Restrictions apply to buildings and developments located within the Georgetown’s Courthouse View Protection Overlay District, which was established in 2003.
During a November 8 meeting, council approved establishing a waiver process via an executive text amendment to the Unified Development Code on first reading. At the time, the waiver was approved through a 4-3 vote with dissent voiced partially because the ordinance would allow waivers to be approved by a simple majority vote.
However, rules were amended during Tuesday’s meeting after Council Member Jake French made a motion to require a majority plus one vote in order for waivers to be approved.
“I think we need to be really careful with the view corridor because once that view is obstructed, there’s no going back and for that reason … I think an extra layer of precaution as it pertains to granting variances of the view corridor is worthwhile,” Mr. French said.
“I think part of people’s concerns last time was the three-quarters majority language, which amounts to like, 5 and a quarter votes. So if you’ve got two people on council, you can basically reject the waiver process. I wonder if council might be amenable to making it a majority plus one, which is a little bit lower threshold than what was previously proposed.”
The amendment was approved in a 4-3 vote with Council Members Amanda Parr, Ron Garland and Mike Triggs voting against.
“This was discussed two weeks ago and that was the time to bring this up and it was brought up then,” Mr. Triggs said. “People rejected the majority plus one then. I don’t think it’s a good idea to renegotiate that now.
“That’s not a good way to negotiate things in life in general. You don’t give somebody two bites out of the apple. They took a chance to go for the whole ball of wax, we offered that compromise then and they didn’t take it. I don’t think it should be on the table now.”
Council members began taking steps toward creating a waiver process for the restrictions in September in preparation for construction on the city’s future downtown parking garage, planned for 0.66-acres of land located at 502 South Main Street and bordered by South Austin Avenue, South Main Street and Sixth Street. This location falls within the view corridor protection overlay, which dictates structures located within 30 feet of Austin Avenue cannot be taller than 21 feet. The city will use the new waiver process for the project.