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..