Council approves first reading to rezone 15.91 acres near Dixie Farm Road for storage campus

Pearland City Council on Monday approved on first reading an ordinance to rezone 15.91 acres northeast of the Dixie Farm Road and Main Street intersection from Light Industrial (M-1) and Heavy Industrial (M-2) to a planned development district to permit a proposed RV/trailer/boat storage and self‑storage campus. The measure passed on a 7-0 vote and is scheduled for a second and final reading June 9.

The item came before council after staff presentation and a Planning and Zoning Commission recommendation to approve, 7-0. City staff described the project as a three-building development fronting Dixie Farm Road with a shared 35-foot driveway, a total of 246 parking/storage spaces and a set of requested deviations to facade articulation and transparency rules.

The project team, Paige and Jay McKee of 3912 Livingston Lake Court in Pearland, told council the design has been revised multiple times and that right-of-way plans for Dixie Farm Road required changes. "We have this expansion of Dixie Farm Road now that we got the renderings on May 2... it could be 10 years, 15 years, 30 years. We do not know," Paige McKee said, adding the team is working with city staff to reconfigure the site and will return for final action in June.

Staff said the site's future land‑use category is "professional services" and that the proposed storage campus is treated as a secondary use within that place type. Staff also noted the site benefits from dense, existing vegetation that provides screening; because the city expects eventual right-of-way acquisition, the developer requested deviations for facade articulation (one foot per 20 feet rather than one per 10) and limited transparency requirements in certain elevations.

Councilmembers discussed how the planned development (PD) would handle landscaping and future standards. Councilmember Cozza said he supported the use, noting that a landfill lies just east of the site and that the site ‘‘is an appropriate use, up against that and certainly agree with the vegetation and the screening.’’ City staff clarified that the PD document enshrines the landscaping as shown in the current design and that if a significant percentage of the existing vegetation is removed—whether by acquisition or storm damage—the developer would be required to replant the area to current standards.

Staff also told council that a county long‑range transportation plan includes a future Dixie Farm Road widening, and that the preferred alternative in the long‑range plan would shift the roadway west across railroad tracks; staff estimated the corridor project most likely sits in a 10‑year planning horizon. Staff additionally reported an oil and gas well head near the western edge of the corridor; officials said moving the road was likely to be less costly than relocating the well head.

Planning staff concluded the PD meets most approval criteria and is consistent with surrounding industrial and manufacturing uses, subject to the listed deviations and conditions; the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval, 7-0. At the council meeting Councilmember Carbone moved the ordinance for first reading; the motion passed 7-0.

The applicant asked for the second and final reading to be continued to June 9 to allow additional design adjustments tied to the Dixie Farm Road right-of-way. If the project returns with those adjustments and receives final approval, the PD will carry with the land regardless of ownership changes, per staff's explanation to council.