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Council rejects addition of Old Underwood to high‑frequency truck route, approves commercial landscaping changes
Summary
After public opposition from nearby large‑lot residential neighborhoods, La Porte council denied a proposal to add a segment of Old Underwood Road to the city’s designated truck and high‑frequency truck routes but approved revised commercial landscaping rules.
La Porte City Council on Tuesday rejected a staff recommendation from the planning department to add a northern segment of Old Underwood Road to the city's designated truck and high‑frequency truck routes, but approved changes to the municipal commercial landscaping standards.
Planning staff proposed adding Old Underwood Road north from roughly 125 feet south of East X Street up to State Highway 225 so that trucks serving the Underwood Business Park could be routed north; staff said the change would allow warehouse tenants to use the route and would reduce pressure on other local streets.
Several residents and Councilmember Williams urged caution. Williams said residents in adjacent large‑lot residential areas opposed turning Old Underwood into a truck route and asked the council to “exhaust” other options first, including working with the property owner to clarify permitted NAICS uses in the existing SCUP for the business park. Resident Darryl Herron told council that the road’s current surface “is no condition for any truck traffic.”
Councilmember Williams moved to deny both the proposed truck route and the high‑frequency designation for the Old Underwood segment; Councilmember Bentley seconded the motion and it carried. Williams then moved, separately, to approve the proposed commercial landscaping amendments; Bentley seconded and that motion also carried.
What changed: The council’s action preserves the existing limitation on truck‑oriented development immediately south of the business park and directs staff to consider alternate administrative fixes — including amending the SCUP to specify permitted NAICS codes — before changing city truck‑route designations.
Why it matters: The truck‑route designation affects which industrial and warehouse NAICS uses can be located adjacent to that right‑of‑way. Opponents said adding the designation would enable larger‑scale warehousing closer to existing large‑lot homes; supporters argued it would help clarify permitted uses for existing tenants in the business park.
Votes at a glance: Motion to deny addition of Old Underwood Road to truck/high‑frequency truck routes; mover: Councilmember Williams; second: Councilmember Bentley; outcome: denied. Motion to approve commercial landscaping revisions; mover: Councilmember Williams; second: Councilmember Bentley; outcome: approved.
