Bar fight breaks out over proposed development

UPDATE

The residents of Rolling Oaks and owners of the proposed Wenty's Wine and Beer Yard have signed a preliminary agreement, called a Rule 11 Agreement, that states the property owners will "refrain from constructing any structure or improvement... for the purpose of operating a business or commercial enterprise." This bypassed the need for the injunction hearing on April 8. The agreement will still have to be finalized as a full settlement agreement, which the parties have 30 days to complete. For the full story, see the April 15 issue of the Wimberley View.

ORIGINAL STORY

If whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting, as the old saying goes, all the residents of Rolling Oaks know is that they are tired of having to fight.

After being one of the leaders in the Hays County Water Wars to try and keep a commercial business from pumping significant amounts of water from the Trinity Aquifer, around 100 residents in the Rolling Oaks subdivision have now filed a lawsuit attempting to stop the construction of a bar proposed for development inside the residential neighborhood.

Wenty’s Beer and Wine Yard describes itself on Facebook as a “family oriented beer and wine yard serving local and other interesting craft beers and wines from the Hill Country and beyond.”

The five-acre property, located at 1335 Rolling Oaks Drive, is at the beginning stages of development. It has recently been cleared, and neighbors just learned of the plans to build a bar on the property.

“We have a very tight community up here,” Rick Dodson, one of the residents that have signed on to the lawsuit, said. “Everyone is aware and up in arms… I am past the crying stage, and now I’m at the stage of just laughing at it. Their plans are just so absurd.”

A person who identified themselves as Stephen Wentworth with Wenty’s Beer and Wine Yard declined to comment when reached by phone.

The main concerns stated by neighbors surround issues that would occur due to a commercial establishment being built in a residential neighborhood. According to neighbors, there are eight homes within 300 feet of the property. There are also hundreds of homes in the subdivision, which only has one entrance and exit, Rolling Oaks Drive. The proposed bar is more than a mile into the subdivision driving up fears of increased traffic on the small twolane roads that twist through the neighborhood.

“We are three-fourths of the way down into Rolling Oaks,” Dodson said. “What they have stated they are going to do is have a huge place they are putting in. It has a splash pad out front. It’s just totally bizarre in the middle of Rolling Oaks.”

This issue between commercial property in residential areas been increasing lately according to local officials.

“I’ve heard from a lot of folks out there that are concerned,” Hays County Commissioner Lon Shell said. “Unfortunately, it is something we are seeing more often with the growth and value of property. This is the third one I can think of in the last few years of something commercial being built in what most would consider a residential neighborhood. We are working with the owners and the residents to see what can be done, but the county’s authority is very limited in this area.”

As of late last week, around 100 residents filed a petition and request for injunctive relief to try and stop the construction on the property. While many of the concerns residents have stated surround the impacts the commercial development would have on safety, their standard of living and property, the request for an injunction is focused on covenants and restrictions on the land.

According to the request, there are restrictions for the plats in the subdivision stating, “No commercial or business enterprise shall be conducted on any part of this subdivision” and argues that those restrictions have been continued in the chain of title each time the property has sold since the subdivision was established in 1969.

A hearing for the injunction request is scheduled for Thursday, April 8 in Hays County District Court.

(Disclosure: Dalton Sweat, editor of the Wimberley View, has direct family that is listed as a member of the petition and request for injunctive relief as a resident in the Rolling Oaks subdivision.)