Bastrop consultants give first look at proposed building code

Consultants revamping Bastrop’s land-use rules gave an early look at the proposed building code that may ultimately guide new construction in the city at a joint meeting on May 29 of the Bastrop City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission.

Matt Lewis, president and CEO of Austin-based consulting firm SimpleCity Design, presented to city officials a first draft of the code — which has resulted from about a year of careful analysis of public input, the city’s roots and the city’s projected future.

“The rules that will govern Bastrop going forward will create a series of neighborhoods, accessible places that will be built off of the same framework that the town (was) founded on — the Bastrop Building Block,” he said, clicking though a Power Point presentation that illustrated the variety of urban characteristics the city could feature in the future. “We’re reintroducing these types of development opportunities back into Bastrop with the new code. You will get a variety of housing types and they will emulate the patterns that were originally created in Bastrop.”

Some of the new guidelines that will be included in the code are what officials are calling character district boundaries, which will designate certain areas of town with specific identities, similar to museum districts or art districts in other cities. Each district will target certain design styles and will have select building codes that will guide development. City staff and consultants said they have identified 18 different character districts within the city, including The Bluffs, Lost Pines, downtown, the new addition of downtown, Riverside Grove and Mayfest Hill.

City Manager Lynda Humble said that the districts will help avoid a one-size-fits-all code while keeping Bastrop’s authentic roots and sensitive geography in mind — goals set by the City Council.

The new code will also group newly developing areas into three patterns: traditional, with a gridded street system dividing out blocks; clustered land development, which will group buildings close together in order to preserve an area’s green space in order to create a more rural feel; and village center development, which would be a highly dense and urban environment that promotes walkability and keeps traffic on the periphery.

Zoning laws, which divide municipal areas into residential, industrial or commercial areas, have also been reworked and renamed. Bastrop will soon divide its land into five place types: nature, rural, neighborhood, mixture and urban. Current zoning designations will be translated into these categories.

While downtown areas will comprise the urban core designation, mixed areas will include single family homes alongside retrofitted homes that now house businesses, like attorneys’ offices or bail bondsmen. The neighborhood surrounding the Bastrop County Courthouse on Pecan Street would fall into this designation.

The Bastrop City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission will revisit a second draft of the codes on June 22. It will ultimately need to be passed by both groups, which Mayor Connie Schroeder said is expected to happen by early October or early November.

The city is hosting two events this month to provide residents and stakeholders opportunities to share feedback on the draft building code.

On Saturday, June 8, a pop-up street project will bring the draft code to life on Main Street. The event, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., will highlight what future development may look like based on the new land-use regulations, while providing a preview for the new streetscape to come as part of the Main Street rehabilitation project.

On June 26, a community open house at the Bastrop Opera House will allow developers and residents to review the draft land-use rules and speak directly to city staff about the code before the public review process closes on June 27. Developers are invited to stop by from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. and residents from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.