Neighbors oppose proposed gas station

ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) - Land for sale in Round Rock is causing a stir with its neighbors.

Wag-A-Bag, a gas station and convenience store chain, is looking to buy and rezone the land on Sam Bass Road. Neighbors aren’t sold on the idea.

Now, neighbors have the chance to put in offers of their own. Round Rock Planning and Zoning commissioners recommended the City Council approve rezoning the land as neighborhood commercial in November. Before the council could vote on it earlier this month, the landowner and Wag-A-Bag tabled the issue.

Wag-A-Bag representative Russ Boles told Community Impact Newspaper that the zoning case  was "scheduled to go to City Council for approval but word had gotten to Wag-A-Bag and Bradley that people in Tonkawa Springs were interested in purchasing the property.

 "So the buyer and seller said, 'let's take a break,' and give those persons the opportunity to purchase the property," Boles added.

The land sits along Sam Bass Road, near the Tonkawa Springs neighborhood. It backs up to natural springs you can’t see from the road.

"There are springs all through here and that’s why we call it Tonkawa Springs," said Jane DiGesualdo, Tonkawa Springs resident.

For DiGesualdo, the springs are the reason to keep the land zoned residential. A gas station could disrupt the nature there. Neighbors have formed Round Rock Springs .

"There is no way to put tanks into this rock structure without having to drill," said DiGesualdo.

Neighbors say they have a reason to be wary after a different gas station down the road had a leak.

"Some years ago, maybe eight to 10 years, 7-Eleven had a leak,” said Robert Hyde, Tonkawa Springs resident. “There was a leak in a gas tank and it poisoned several wells, especially ones we got water from."

KXAN spoke with the landowner on the phone, Thursday. He said his contract with Wag-A-Bag is pending in order to give neighbors a chance to come forward and make an offer.

DiGesualdo says a group of neighbors are working to do just that.

Without another offer, the landowner says he'll likely move forward with his contract with Wag-A-Bag in the New Year.