Kennedale city leaders on Tuesday opened and closed a public hearing on a zoning request from Waste Connections to rezone five parcels on South Price Road from C‑2 general commercial and R‑3 single‑family residential to I industrial, a change the company says would allow an office, employee facilities and a citizen “drop‑off” area for construction and demolition (C&D) materials. The council did not take action; the item was scheduled for the council’s next meeting for formal consideration.

The rezoning would cover roughly 10 acres at several addresses on South Price Road and would consolidate five tracts into a single lot after a plat application that is currently under review. “We’re proposing to change those to industrial with a special exception,” said Chuck Marsh, a professional civil engineer with Weaver Consultants, who presented the application on behalf of the owner, identified in the application as Texas Regional Landfill Company LP under the Waste Connections umbrella.

The request would allow a proposed 4,900‑square‑foot office and break room for employees, removal of a small portion of an existing building and the use of existing driveways while relocating the main entrance about 800 feet north to improve visibility. Marsh told council the rezoning is consistent with Kennedale’s future land‑use map, which shows industrial uses along that stretch of South Price Road.

Council members and residents raised traffic and litter concerns. Marsh and Waste Connections staff emphasized that a separate Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) application for a possible municipal solid waste (MSW) transfer station is a different permit process and is not part of the zoning request for the five parcels; Marsh said if the transfer station permit is ultimately approved, company estimates project traffic could add about 1,136 daily two‑way trips (about 120 peak‑hour trips). “That’s 1 truck every 30 seconds,” Marsh said when presenting the traffic engineer’s peak‑hour calculation.

Gary Bartels, regional engineer for Waste Connections, addressed litter and monitoring. He said the landfill operator is obligated under permit to collect trash at least once per day along South Price Road and within two miles of the facility entrance and that the company operates sweeper equipment and hires contractors for additional sweeping. Bartels said the company currently contributes $0.37 per ton of waste received to a fund used for roadway maintenance (about $170,000 per year at present), and that staff at the site are trained to screen loads and use cameras to monitor drop‑off areas.

Councilmembers asked for clarity about enforcement and long‑term roadway maintenance, and raised resident complaints about nails and debris left by operations and about berms created by sweeping. Waste Connections acknowledged limits to its ability to perform some maintenance on county‑maintained stretches of roadway and said it would continue to work with the city and county on mitigation.

No motion or vote was taken at the hearing. The council closed the hearing and directed that the rezoning item be placed on the council’s next agenda for formal consideration. Staff noted the applicant also has a plat application under review and that driveway permits and any future site work would return to the city for review.

If approved, the rezoning would allow the applicant to seek a special‑exception approval from the board of adjustment for any transfer or convenience station uses not permitted by right under the industrial zoning. The applicant said a decision on whether to build any transfer station would follow separate permitting and market decisions and could take years to phase in if it proceeds.

Council members and staff said they expect follow‑up reports from staff on the contribution fund, the plat review, and any driveway/access permits if the application advances to a formal vote.