John Kirkland Boots Himself! The crooked tale (pun intended) of two maps. Last-minute maneuver on the forested hill behind Buc'ees! Elect Cheryl Lee, an honest homegrown Bastropian.

The original version by city consultant.

The packet version.

JohJohn Kirkland is the gift that keeps on giving, giving the boot to himself. The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z), stacked by Council Member John Kirkland, on Thursday night passed a last-minute (before this election) revision of the Future Land Use Map, but there was "confusion" about which map!

The agenda packet sent out ahead of the meeting shows a different map than what was presented to P&Z by the planning consultant, Halff Associates. Specifically, the area behind Buc-ee’s still shows it in orange which is designated as Residential Mixed Density. We should assume that the agenda packet is the official document being voted on or amended.

However, Halff Associates, the City’s hired infrastructure consulting firm, presented something different. The area behind Buc-ee’s shows it in darker yellow, when the public and a few of the Council Members were clear at the April 24th Open House that it should be the lighter yellow, that is Residential Conservation. This was to protect against denser development within the Houston Toad Lost Pines habitat. This would also align with the current Zoning Map that shows those particular lots as P-2, Rural Residential. What is interesting, when P&Z made the motion, they said “as written in these documents” and added in more density, as recommended by Jimmy Crouch, along Highway 21 up to Highway 150 intersection at the State Park and Roadhouse. So now it is on to City Council for a vote.

This will be a new council, with at least one new member that could cast a critical vote to seal the fate of that hill, and the forest adjacent to Bastrop State Park, and the Houston Toad!

Get out and vote today, May 3rd. Flush the John and elect Cheryl Lee, an honest homegrown Bastropian.