Angleton council tables rezoning request for manufactured‑home expansion on South Anderson

The Angleton City Council on Tuesday tabled action on an ordinance to rezone roughly 0.894 acres behind 1030 South Anderson Street to expand the Black Women Manufactured Home Community, citing unresolved questions about lot count, private access and infrastructure.

The rezoning measure, ordinance 20250610-05, would have changed the parcel from Single‑Family Residential (SFR‑7.2) to a Manufactured Home (MH) district to allow new manufactured‑home lots. The applicant said the proposal would add new owner‑occupied units behind the existing house at 1030 South Anderson and that the front single‑family house would be retained.

The item matters because the parcel sits on a private drive with limited city standards and emergency‑access implications; council members pressed the applicant and staff about how additional lots would be accessed, where visitor parking would be located, who would maintain roads and utility infrastructure and whether code enforcement and maintenance responsibilities would be adequately defined.

Otis, a staff member in the planning department, briefed the council and summarized the planning commission review and staff analysis. "We notified everyone within 200 feet of the property...the planning commission actually denied this particular case," he said, noting the commission reduced the applicant's original request to four lots because of parking and access concerns and because the applicant later said he would retain the single‑family home fronting Anderson.

Manuel Gonzales, who identified himself from 58 Pine Court, Lake Jackson and spoke in favor of manufactured homes as affordable housing, addressed the council during the public hearing. "Manufactured homes are affordable housing for the lower‑income community," Gonzales said. He also described plans to place a privacy fence between the Anderson frontage and the new lots and said the homes would be owner occupied.

During questioning, the applicant (speaking from the public podium) told council members he owns the entire mobile‑home park property, has owned it about two years and said he had already installed four lots and intended to rent only lots while encouraging owner occupancy of the homes. He said he planned to improve roadway surfacing incrementally and install concrete driveways for the newly developed lots.

Council members and staff pressed the applicant on several implementation details: the private drive is not built to city street standards and would need to be made an "all‑weather surface" for emergency access; there may be a requirement for an additional fire hydrant to ensure hydrant coverage within 300 feet of structures; parkland dedication fees apply per new unit; and code‑enforcement responsibility for units on private land ultimately rests with the property owner.

Staff told council that code enforcement had addressed a few past issues in the park and that, in the last six months, there were no active open code enforcement cases. Council members repeatedly raised concerns about drainage, tree maintenance, trash, road base and the lack of a formal management plan or homeowners association for the park.

Councilwoman Daniels moved to table the item; Councilwoman Sargent seconded. The motion carried on a voice vote, leaving the rezoning unresolved and requiring the applicant to return with clearer plans and any required re‑advertising if the proposal is modified.

The item featured conflicting references about lot counts: the applicant said he originally applied for six lots, but the planning commission recommendation and the posted public notice reflected a four‑lot configuration; staff said the agenda as posted reflected four lots and council cannot act on a larger change than was posted. The council and staff noted the developer may reapply or the council may direct re‑advertisement and return of the item.

Next steps: council tabled the item for further information on access, visitor parking, road surfacing and management requirements; the applicant was advised to prepare a management plan and to coordinate with planning, fire and public works on hydrant and access requirements.