Erect a 10,000-seat outdoor amphitheater in the vicinity of breeding Golden-Cheeked Warblers and what could possibly go wrong?
This potential scenario has Travis Audubon members fearing the worst as a developer moves forward with plans for a 71-acre commercial development near the Barton Creek Habitat Preserve in west Austin. The preserve is known to provide the requirements for Golden-cheeked Warblers, an endangered species, to live and reproduce. The songbirds use juniper-oak woodlands for nesting and are known to avoid human activity and noise.
White Rocks Entertainment LLC, along with UMusic Hospitality & Lifestyle, is proposing to build a resort hotel with hundreds of rooms and condos, office and restaurant space, and a large amphitheater near Texas 71 and Bee Cave. Work on the first phase of the complex would start next year.
The company is seeking a Texas Land Application Permit from the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality for the authority to dispose treated wastewater onto land. A preliminary hearing by the State Office of Administrative Hearings will be held October 27. Also the city of Austin is being asked to provide water service to the site.
“There are deep concerns over this land application permit, especially how such a large, active commercial entity would affect one of the state’s largest nature preserves,” said Travis Audubon’s John Bloomfield, Advocacy Committee chair. “Runoff and water quality are a worry but also traffic, light pollution and high decibels from an outdoor concert venue, all of which would directly impact nearby Golden-cheeked Warblers and their ability to reproduce.”
He noted these warblers are unique in that they breed solely in the Texas Hill Country and nowhere else in the world. Birders from far and wide travel to the Austin area to witness this special species.
The Save Our Springs Alliance and several west Austin landowners oppose the land application and have raised concerns over runoff, surface water degradation, private water well supplies, and wildlife. They contend the state permit would not be sufficient to protect such an environmentally sensitive area.
If allowed to go forward, the large commercial project would be situated near the top of a tall hill with steep inclines. White Rocks disputes the contention that discharge would run downhill and pollute Barton Creek.
Travis Audubon members wanting to register their opposition to construction of a sprawling commercial project next to Golden-cheeked Warbler habitat have the option of signing a petition launched by Save Texas Streams.
