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The meeting started at 5PM. By 6:15, almost half the people in the room at the start of the meeting were gone. And yet, the public hearings on the various development code modifications had not even happened.
Why?
People don’t know how this all works. Nor was there any explanation for this large turnout about how public meetings and public hearings work. That would have been common courtesy.
Oh, City Manager Sylvia Carrillo got to give her fluffy overview of what was happening and why. None of that means anything when actual codes are adopted. Whatever the City Manager says has no bearing on the enforcement of the finally adopted code.
it’s actually the City Council that adopts these codes. The Planning and Zoning Commission makes recommendations only. There is a lot of confusion amongst attendees on what’s happening that would be solved by an explanation at the beginning of the meeting as to how this all works. Or, a detailed explanation on the City website would be helpful.
Still to come on the agenda are Public Hearings 5A, 6A, 7A, 7B, 7C, 8A, 9A, and 10A. That’s EIGHT public hearings. If people think their comments at the beginning of the meeting are applicable and part of the record on these individual ordinances, they are not. Specific comments on these individual ordinances must be made during the specific public hearings.
This is another reason that all of this should not be rushed. If the residents who speak are truly being heard, then the ordinances that are ultimately in front of the City Council will be modified based on citizen comments at these meetings. Twenty-three days for two Planning and Zoning hearings, along with two City Council meetings, is rush, rush, rush for something that will impact all those who live, work, and travel through the City of Bastrop for years to come..
An Open Records Request revealed documents previously held outside the public eye proving that there were no financial improprieties at Visit Bastrop. And, City Manager Sylvia Carrillo knew it!
On Monday, January 29, 2024 prior to the first Ethics Commission hearing, Bastrop City Manager Sylvia Carrillo admitted in writing that it was “hard to show if anything is “wrong” when the existing policies allow it”. This was in reference to the allegations of financial wrong-doing at Visit Bastrop from 2020-2023.
John Kirkland repeated those false financial wrong-doing allegations in his January 18, 2024 ethics complaint and April 2024 recall petition even though he had to have known at the time that they were false.
In December 2023, investigating attorney Sarah Glaser issued a report that stated “The Mayor denied any knowledge of misuse of public funds and my investigation to date uncovered no evidence otherwise.”
In John Kirkland’s January 18, 2024 ethics complaint against Mayor Nelson, he stated under oath “a minimum of 51 occurrences of discussions regarding spending for meals, travel, and entertainment, some of which are already proven to be an improper use of public funds“. (emphasis added) Based on now available documents, that wasn’t true.
Former Visit Bastrop board chair, Kerry Fossler, recused herself from a May 16, 2024 vote that had to do with Visit Bastrop business while she was chair. Council member Kevin Plunkett served as board vice-chair in 2020 and 2021, two years that were included in the investigations. As a board member during those years, Plunkett should have recused himself from any votes regarding this issue, but he didn’t.
Ask yourself:
- Why Kirkland so desperately wanted Mayor Nelson gone that he was willing to see more than $137,000 in taxpayers funds used for that purpose;
- Why Plunkett didn’t recuse himself from votes where he had a direct, or at least perceived, conflict of interest;
- Why the Kirkland-led Council majority refused to investigate the financial concerns laid out by Councilwoman Cheryl Lee in a 42 page report;
- Why a re-write of the City of Bastrop development code is being rushed for adoption.
Reprinted with permission from the author, Carol Spencer.
The City of Bastrop held numerous public hearings before it adopted the current zoning ordinance. The public had many opportunities to provide input. Modifications were made based on that input. The Council held public hearings on the ordinance to obtain more public input, and then it was adopted. That happened just 6 years ago in 2019.
As proven by the defeat of the Gateway project, the code worked. An over-intense project was proposed needing a zone change. When citizens came out to oppose the unfettered development on steep slopes behind Bucees, the developers modified their plan. They hoped they’d still get approval for a zone change so they could build their multi-million dollar project. That strategy did not work and the zone change request was defeated.
That, however, wasn’t the death of the project. It was just denied under current zoning. And the defeat only meant citizens wouldn’t see it again for 12 months.
But there’s more than one way to skin a cat.
Why not change the entire zoning plan for the City of Bastrop? Make it so complex that citizens cannot absorb it all. Do it quickly before citizens realize what’s happening and why.
Developers do this all the time. Can’t get what they want one way, they try another tactic. Can’t get a zone change on a particular piece of property? Change city-wide zoning instead and buried deep within is the zone change that developer wanted all along.
It’s all about money. The profits from major developments run in the tens, sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars. So, they get Council people out of the way who might or do oppose their plans and install Council people who vote “yes” for the zone changes because they’re in the developers pocket or they just aren’t “minding the store”. (Sound familiar? Get rid of Lyle Nelson and pro-Gateway Council member(s) remain.)
No matter how it happens, the developer gets its development, citizens be damned. Once the code is modified and the proposed development meets the zoning criteria, the development gets approved.
It’s odd the code is being re-written and shoved through so quickly. Odd, too, is that it’ll be adopted just in time for Gateway to be refiled, only this time, a zone change won’t be needed making that development harder to defeat.
I’ll be very surprised if this isn’t what happens. The only thing that will change is if citizens come out in droves and express their opposition to these zone changes. Waiting for future development projects is just too late.