‘We want our voices to be heard’: Woodway residents concerned over lack of updates regarding new development

WOODWAY, Texas (KWTX) - Following Tuesday’s Planning and Zoning meeting, some Woodway residents are speaking out against the development of a new subdivision that’s been in the works for years now.

Lori Whitsell, a long-time opponent of the project, tells KWTX she first heard about the project in 2020.

“I was in my backyard one day and saw an excavator knock down trees at the edge of my property lines, and he told me he was prepping the roads for a huge development that was coming.”

When KWTX last reported on the development back in April 2022, many folks voiced similar concerns about the future of the nearly 100 acre plot that will house over 70 homes between Harbor and Poage Drive.

Concerned citizens cited issues of impact on wildlife, flooding and soil in the area not being suitable for homes, and worries about traffic as a result of crowding.

After that meeting in 2022, Woodway’s Planning and Zoning team ultimately approved the preliminary plat with conditions, despite the backlash they received.

In the year since, residents say the committee hasn’t been forthcoming with updates on the project.

“At least 50 people have been speaking for over a year, over and over about the same questions, the same concerns just asking for updates, for anything on this development, to be placed on the agenda,” Whitsell told KWTX.

At the most recent meeting this past Tuesday, March 14, 2023, while the development was on the agenda, Woodway resident Paula Teer says she wasn’t allowed to voice any thoughts on the project.

“Concerned citizens that wanted to speak, were not able to, were not allowed to, I should say,” Teer said. “This past meeting, we were told this was not a meeting up for discussion.”

When asked about how the city is responding to these concerns, city manager Shawn Oubre said in a statement that, “Those concerns are addressed by the plans submitted by the property owner.”

Another Planning and Zoning meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 20, 2023, where residents are hopeful they’ll have more of an opportunity to have a say in the decision making.

“Basically, we’re worried about this falling on the taxpayers’ feet,” Whitsell said. “We just want our voices to be heard, our concerns to be heard.”

Copyright 2023 KWTX. All rights reserved.