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DRIPPING SPRINGS — Plans for a 5,000-seat outdoor concert venue off Fitzhugh Road in Dripping Springs  — brought by California developer Blizexas LLC — are still facing opposition from residents who live nearby.

Last month, members of the Stop Fitzhugh Venue Coalition sent a letter to Hays County and Travis County officials in opposition to the project. The letter was drafted in response to a Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) submitted by the developer in February 2022.

Coalition members are concerned that the TIA did not analyze the impact of additional traffic on the intersection of U.S. 290 West and Fitzhugh Road and that it did not address emergency vehicle access to the proposed venue and homes in the area during events.

“What’s going to happen if we have an accident out there? What’s going to happen if we have a rainstorm? How are fire trucks, ambulances and patrol vehicles and all of those things going to get in and out? It’s just so jammed up; people can’t even drive,” said Steve Warntjes, a resident who has lived off Fitzhugh Road for 15 years. “It’s a two lane road … Heaven forbid, what if I have a heart attack during that and my wife calls 911? I’m dead.”

“The TIA did not include the [U.S] 290 [and] Fitzhugh Road intersection, [even though] 75% of the traffic is going to go through there by their own study, and they didn’t bother to look at that intersection,” Warntjes added. “I don’t see how you can have a reasonable traffic analysis without having studied that intersection.”

While the parcel of property for the project is in Hays County, the intersection of Fitzhugh Road and U.S. 290 West is in Travis County and any improvements to that intersection would be at the direction of Travis County and Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), according to Hays County Transportation Director Jerry Borcherding.

Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra said that it’s valid for residents to be concerned about whether they will be able to evacuate in the case of an emergency or if first responders will be able to get to their houses, should the venue be constructed.

“One thing we will not compromise on absolutely, for nothing in the world, is public safety and public health. Emergency vehicles have to be able to get in and out, do U-turns and do all those kinds of maneuvers as part of the plan,” Becerra said. “We use our fire marshal to ensure that those plans meet the requirements set forward by the state.”

Hays County is moving forward with engineering firm Cobb Fendley & Associates to perform a corridor study of Fitzhugh Road from its intersection with RR 12 east to the Travis County line, according to commissioner Walt Smith.

Smith agreed that the traffic concerns are valid, but there is only so much the county is allowed to do.

“Without planning and zoning and other types of authority, the county’s hands are almost tied in a lot of these situations, specifically to try to address some of those concerns … I have concern over the current traffic situation on the roadway, but the problem that we have, and I cannot reiterate this enough, is without planning and zoning, we don’t even have the ability to initiate impact fees. So, unlike a city or the state of Texas, if a development goes on to U.S. 290 right now and there’s an analysis of, ‘Okay, well, here are the 15 different things that needs to happen to that roadway or maybe the intersection that is a quarter mile away or maybe additional turn lanes need to be put in,’” Smith said. “When that facility is approved by the state, then TxDOT will mandate [and say], ‘This is what changes must be made and here’s what you’re going to pay for that.’ They can require that facility to pay for that [and] a city can do the same thing. Unfortunately, counties don’t have that ability. We have no impact fee authority whatsoever. So, when we identify those things, we can ask those facilities to pay for it, but at the end of the day, it’s [the] current taxpayers and current residents who have to foot the bill for those things.”

In the letter, the coalition members said that they were disappointed that the county did not hold a public hearing for the TIA.

Hays County Development Services Director Marcus Pacheco explained that for the submittal of a TIA, there is no requirement for a public hearing or notice to the public.

“These studies are prepared and submitted to the county for review. After review, an administrative approval is granted by the county engineer relating to the TIA report and any recommended improvements,” he said. “When TIA studies are required as [a] component of a subdivision application/process, the subdivision process itself may require a public hearing component to be met per our regulations or state and federal law. As presented, the development is not proposing to subdivide the subject property.”

Ensuring that drivers turning into or out of the venue have enough visibility is also important. One of the driveways of the project would provide drivers who are exiting 250 feet of sight distance, while Hays County requires 350 feet of minimum sight distance.

The developer should be “required to apply for and obtain a variance in a public hearing before the Hays County Commissioners Court,” the coalition’s letter stated.

Becerra and Borcherding said that advanced warning signage will be required to alert drivers on the roadway.

Additional concerns

Though additional and congested traffic are high on the list of concerns, residents are also hesitant about the impact the venue would have on Barton Creek, the status of Dripping Springs as a Dark Sky Community and noise pollution.

Smith reiterated that the county does not have the authority for certain regulations, including light and noise.

“We don’t have planning and zoning and that’s the authority that a city uses specifically to regulate dark skies. As a county, we don’t have the ability to do that,” he said. “So, we can’t regulate the lighting, we can’t pass a lighting ordinance, because we don’t have the authority in the state.”

Smith said that even with the state setting the maximum decibel level allowed at 85, residents may hear music or whatever noise is coming from the venue, should it be constructed.

“Before Nutty Brown Cafe moved to Williamson County, for years there would be noise complaints about Nutty Brown Cafe because you could hear [it]. I have residents that tell me that they miss it, because they could sit on our back porch and have a concert every Saturday and they live two miles away. Depending on the wind, it might be three miles away on that night. But they never went over that 85 decibel level. Even with the current state regulation, there’s still going to be the possibility, and I think the probability, that neighbors are going to be able to hear whatever event is happening there.”

What’s next?

While the county “lacks the tools that we need to truly address some of these issues,” Smith said that they will use the tools that they do have to take a serious stance and look at what can and cannot be reviewed.

Becerra invited all residents who are concerned about the proposed venue off Fitzhugh Road to contact his office by emailing [email protected].

“If enough people email my office that they would like some kind of forum where we all come together to discuss this, well then by golly, I promise you, I will create it,” Becerra said.

For more information about the proposed venue and the coalition’s concerns, visit .