Building Bastrop is an initiative the City is undertaking to guide responsible development that honors our authentic past and prepares for our sustainable future.

On August 14, 2018, the Bastrop City Council initiated a temporary moratorium on new development that would be detrimental to our community based on current land-use regulations. Originally set for 90 days, the moratorium was extended to run through May 21, 2019, to ensure we are able to deliver updated land-use regulations that are informed by our geography and reflect what we already know works.

Taking a comprehensive approach, Building Bastrop was launched to create a new set of tools that will support the community in a responsible manner for generations to come, including the complete reform of Bastrop’s Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances. This effort will simultaneously promote new development that is in line with what we know and love about Bastrop. It is completely aligned with the City of Bastrop’s comprehensive plan.

Drainage and stormwater planning is one of the most critical elements to building a resilient city and ensuring new development doesn’t negatively impact the existing population or environment. This effort will allow us to develop appropriate systems to prevent small area flooding in the future.

Beyond drainage, we also have the opportunity to take a holistic approach to create geographically-sensitive development standards and improve our infrastructure to address the city’s long-term needs. By stepping back to assess the city’s needs, we will make appropriate changes to all our land-use regulations to ensure Bastrop is fiscally sustainable moving forward.

Bastrop has a unique ecology with many geographies meeting in one place – the piney woods, the coastal plains, the hill country and more – that makes it imperative to create regulations that ensure development respects these differing ecological challenges.

In recent decades, the technology did not exist to analyze the land in an effective way and understand the full extent of how development impacts the environment. City Council held a special workshop on February 20, 2018, to study Bastrop’s drainage patterns alongside new FEMA data and updated floodplain maps.

Now that we have the technology and data we need, we plan to analyze our natural land patterns and the DNA of Bastrop to create a new set of tools that will support the community in a responsible manner for generations to come. Creating and updating policy is the responsible next step based on the strategy we’ve already started to implement. This effort is in line with the City’s comprehensive plan.

Building Bastrop will improve development in this community and yield new opportunities for a sustainable future. It will help the City continue to invest in the infrastructure Bastrop needs and provide the services our residents deserve.

We have the benefit of knowing what is and has been successful for our community; we simply need to ensure our land-use regulations are informed by our geography and reflect what we already know works.

Our downtown is the perfect example of what we want to replicate: timeless buildings and forms that pay for themselves and can turnover for multiple uses such as shops, restaurants, banks, offices and more.

We want to promote responsible, sustainable growth that combines the heritage of Bastrop with modern amenities that benefit everyone.

Bastrop is pro-development. We see this moratorium as an opportunity to protect our city and to create a roadmap for responsible development that honors our authentic past and prepares for our sustainable future.

We’ll use our natural geography and the various land-use patterns already in play to create a new set of tools that will preserve authentic Bastrop. These policies will promote geographically-sensitive developments with a variety of housing options, walkable and unique neighborhoods and a diversity of commercial, retail and modern services and amenities.

We know there will be project-level questions, and our staff is available to meet with developers one-on-one to discuss specific projects. Contact information for the Planning and Development Department can be found at www.cityofbastrop.org/page/plan.home. There will be some qualified exemptions and exceptions, but we will work through that process as defined by the approved ordinances.

The following steps must be completed to apply for an Exception:
 

1. Applicant must complete the Submittal Package*, which includes: Application Form and associated Checklist Items.
   
   
2. Staff will review the Submittal Package, with comments issued as needed.
   
   
3. An Exception Determination Letter will be issued by Planning Director:

• If it is determined that the project DOES qualify as an Exception by the Planning Director, the applicant should submit a permit application for their project
• If it is determined the project DOES NOT qualify as an Exception by the Planning Director, the City Manager will make a determination, followed by a City Council determination if needed.

The following steps must be completed to apply for an Exemption:

1. Applicant must request a Pre-Submission Meeting with the Directors (or their designees) of Planning, Engineering, and Public Works using the Pre-Submission Meeting Request Form.

2. Applicant must meet with the Directors at the scheduled time.

3. Applicant must complete the Submittal Package*, which includes: Application Form and associated Checklist Items. Package might require execution of negotiated agreements or enactment of additional ordinances.

4. Staff will review the Submittal Package, with comments issued as needed.

5. The application will be taken up at the next City Council meeting and approved or denied by Resolution or Ordinance:

• If approved, the applicant should submit the appropriate permit application for their project.
• If denied, the applicant will not be able to move forward with their project until the moratorium is lifted or expires and a traditional permit has been issued. Applicants may reconfigure project proposals (consistent with City feedback) for resubmission and reconsideration.

No. City Council has revised the ordinance to clarify that trade permits are not affected by the temporary moratorium because they do not impact drainage. Our focus is on making appropriate changes to our land-use regulations to ensure new development doesn’t negatively impact the existing population or environment.

Anyone seeking a trade permit for projects such as roofing, plumbing, or HVAC repair should follow the standard trade permit application process.

The first step in the process was “mapping the DNA” of Bastrop: extracting the numerical data and creating models that show what fiscally sustainable development looks like. Under Council’s direction, the City expanded its planning team to include industry experts, Simplecity Design, to lead this process. Click here to see their in-depth analysis of Downtown Bastrop’s DNA, which was presented at a community open house on October 18.

Simplecity Design also conducted an extensive evaluation of Bastrop’s current development codes, which was presented at a regular City Council meeting on October 23. It was evident from that evaluation that we need to make several changes from a regulatory standpoint to support the future development we want to see as Bastrop grows.

Next steps include drafting the potential land-use regulations for Bastrop while incorporating feedback from the community. We held a Design Rodeo on November 29 and 30, where our team along with key stakeholders and the general public worked on designing the city to code, then we hosted a Code Rodeo on December 13 and 14 where we began to code the city we designed. Both events included multiple opportunities for the community to see examples of what Bastrop’s updated building codes could look like while having a chance to ask questions, provide feedback and more.

Based on the input we heard at both Rodeos, the planning team is now in the process of taking all of this information and community input and drafting new land-use regulations to adopt moving forward.

Building Bastrop is a community effort; we want everyone to have a voice in the process. We hope that everyone who has been involved will stay involved, and we will continue to provide opportunities for every citizen to share feedback.

Everyone is encouraged to share input and questions at any time by contacting the Building Bastrop hotline at 512-588-8181 or by email at buildingbastrop@cityofbastrop.org.

• Building Bastrop Q&A