Council adopts Imagine Belton rezoning steps and updates future land use map

The Belton City Council on March 25 held public hearings and approved zoning changes to implement the Imagine Belton standards, rezoning multiple areas into two new form-based categories — Central Downtown and Uptown — and adopting an updated, GIS-based amendment to the city’s 2030 comprehensive plan (future land use map).

City planning staff (identified in the record as Bob, planning lead) said the council is taking the second step of a multi-stage process to rezone properties within the Imagine Belton area. Staff described the geography for the two initial zones and explained how the rezoning process will address nonconforming (grandfathered) uses: uses lawfully established before the rezoning may continue, and limited physical expansions (10% physical expansion cited in staff comments) are permitted under the code’s grandfathering language. The staff presentation also highlighted new plan elements including primary and secondary land use categories, infill criteria, transition zones and an industrial designation and design guidance for industrial parcels.

Members of the public and stakeholders spoke in the hearings. Resident Clint Bailey relayed neighborhood questions about whether zoning changes would raise property taxes and asked whether property tax relief would follow rezoning. Bob and other staff answered directly: zoning itself does not change appraised value, and staff explained that the appraisal process and market variables determine taxable values; zoning provides land-use guidance and does not automatically change tax assessments. Cynthia Hernandez of the Belton Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) testified in favor of the rezoning and future land use map, saying it streamlines allowed uses and prepares the city for growth while protecting residential uses.

Council discussion touched on predictability for developers, the balance between encouraging commercial growth and protecting existing residential neighborhoods through transition buffers, and next steps for rezoning other Imagine Belton zones in future meetings. The Planning and Zoning Commission forwarded recommendations to approve the zoning changes; the council voted to approve item 15(a) (Central Downtown rezoning) and item 15(b) (Uptown rezoning) separately and passed both unanimously. The council also unanimously adopted the updated future land use map and associated policy statements (item 16). The council and staff emphasized that the GIS-based map is intended to be a living tool to be updated as development proposals arrive, and that “grandfathered” uses will be protected.

Ending: The council’s approvals put Imagine Belton’s first rezoning steps and a modernized future land use map into effect; staff will continue rezoning the remaining Imagine Belton zones in subsequent meetings and will carry out follow-up implementation work such as infill/transition guidance and residential parking studies.