For the second time in just over a month, the Leander Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend amending the Leander Springs planned unit development, voting 5-1 June 25 to allow the project to move forward to City Council with fewer apartments and changes to the project's phasing.

“We believe that this will compete with the Kalahris of the world, that it will be a destination and the economic impact for the city is tremendous,” former Leander Mayor Troy Hill said.

In a nutshell: While the Leander Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to approve the same item May 14, an error notifying the neighboring Overlook Estates Homeowner’s Association blocked the item from moving forward to City Council.

The setup: Updated plans for the 77.9-acre development include:

• A 4-acre lagoon
• A 275-room hotel
• A 20,000-square-foot conference center
• More than 1 million square feet of commercial space
• 21 acres of parkland

Danelle Houck, the executive director of the Williamson Museum, sat down with Community Impact to discuss the history of the museum ahead of its move from the farmer’s bank into the historic courthouse just across the Georgetown Square.

What do you do in your role as executive director?
My job is really to tell the stories [and] to support the staff—everything from what they need [for] exhibits to talking to different cities [about] how we can help tell their history, making sure it's all preserved.

That's what's really fun is being able to tell history in a way that's accessible and fun and engaging, but also reflects our county.

What are your goals for the museum?
We want to make history fun. Like it's not your just boring history class, right? If it's not behind a case, we want people to touch and interact with it.

Check out six transportation project updates across the Austin metro.

$131M in CAMPO grants to fund WilCo road projects: The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization dedicated about $131 million in federal funding for nine road projects and one trail project. The projects span Georgetown, Hutto, Leander, Liberty Hill, Northwest Austin and Round Rock.

Austin seeks to rein in 'chaotic' e-moto use: A resolution advanced by city leaders this spring will now result in proposed updates to city code defining electronic motorcycles and mini-bikes and their legality, establishing when and where they're permitted and setting related penalties. A report on those changes will be presented by late July.

I-35 northbound lanes to temporarily close for up to 4 weekends: The Texas Department of Transportation will close the I-35 northbound main lanes between Slaughter Lane and SH 71/Ben White Boulevard as part of the I-35 Capital Express South Project from 11 p.m.-9 a.m. on July 10 and 11, July 17 and 18, and July 24 and 25 if needed.

Texas' Republican-led State Board of Education approved a sweeping rewrite of the state's social studies curriculum standards and a list of dozens of books that students will be required to read each school year, both of which are infused with biblical references. The new requirements will begin rolling out to public school classrooms in the 2030-31 school year.

The details: As many as 25 texts will be read each year in early elementary school grades, with about 10 books required in later grades. The reading list was created under a 2023 state law requiring “at least one literary work” per grade.

The new social studies curriculum standards will expand lessons about Texas and American history, deemphasizing some teachings about world cultures and people of color. The standards also expand the amount of content students will be expected to learn each year.

The debate: Proponents of the new standards and reading list said they will teach students to love their state and country, while critics said the policies do not include diverse perspectives.