Council mulls Trinity School expansion

Traffic impacts and the conservation of commercial space along Bee Cave Road are still at the forefront of concerns for the West Lake Hills City Council as it considers the approval of a planned development district for Trinity Episcopal School.

The school’s request for its campus off Bee Cave Road near Westlake Drive stems from its desire to develop the property along 950 Westbank Drive, a property adjacent to the school purchased in 2015.

School officials presented a plan to the City Council on June 27, proposing a 32,000-square-foot community building in the same footprint as the existing building and parking lot on the Westbank property.

Within three to five years, school officials said, they hope the community building might house a gym and performing arts space, with additional parking on the property.

The community building will be a part of Phase 1; in Phase 2, the campus’ oldest building where kindergarten through second grades are housed, will be removed to make room for two new buildings. Students in kindergarten through second grades currently learn inside a one-story building designed to be an office building.

“The purpose of this project is to improve the delivery of our educational program addressing best practices and education and meeting the needs of a robust K through 8 experience for our students,” said Marie Kidd, head of schools.

The City Council cited traffic concerns for the intersection of Westlake Drive and Bee Cave Road.

Mayor Linda Anthony said many residents have expressed frustration with that intersection during after-school hours. The Texas Department of Transportation has been working with both the city and Trinity to address the flow of traffic through that intersection, so it doesn’t back up along Bee Cave Road and Westlake Drive.

“We just want to have language in the PDD that expresses the hope that Trinity will continue to work with the city and deal with any situations that might arise as a result of that expansion,” Anthony said.

While traffic was one concern for the council, the biggest seems to be the effects the expansion could have on the city’s commercial corridor.

The city relies primarily on sales tax revenue to generate the bulk of city finances rather than homeowner property taxes, Anthony said. Trinity functions as a foundation and is therefore exempt from paying property taxes.

Anthony said the council is concerned that Trinity will continue to expand past the 21 acres it sits on. She suggested to council it considers putting language in the plan to limit the development to that 21-acre site and no further expansion or high school.

Kidd said the school has no intentions to build a high school or add sections of classes. According to the school’s website, 534 students are enrolled, and 129 faculty and staff work at the school.

The city’s Zoning and Planning Commission recommended placing an enrollment cap on the campus at 540 students.

The City Council is expected to make an official decision at its July 11 meeting Wednesday.