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Commission narrows where used‑car lots can locate, designates specific zoning and protections for existing lots
Summary
The Planning and Zoning Commission approved a text amendment aimed at limiting the spread of used‑motor‑vehicle sales lots to designated commercial corridors and establishing conditions and nonconforming protections for existing lots.
The Planning and Zoning Commission on Feb. 6 approved Ordinance No. 2025‑235.111, a text amendment to the Unified Development Code that restricts where used‑motor‑vehicle sales (car lots) may locate and sets conditions for their operation.
Staff explained the amendment seeks to channel car lots into a limited set of zoning districts that abut major thoroughfares — notably stretches of Padre Island Highway and Southmost Road — rather than allow the businesses to expand throughout residential neighborhoods. The amendment would require used‑car businesses to obtain a specific use permit in the identified districts, require inventory to be contained within property boundaries (no unloading on the right of way), and prohibit car lots that abut residential zoning (R‑E, R‑1, R‑2, R‑3) from locating adjacent to those residential uses.
Planner remarks and maps presented at the meeting showed 204 existing car‑lot locations citywide, with roughly 41 concentrated in a small corridor along Padre Island Highway and Southmost Road. Staff said that since the UDC inception the commission has reviewed 17 car‑lot cases, approving 14 and denying 3 that were sited inside subdivisions. The amendment would treat used‑motor‑vehicle sales establishments holding a certificate of occupancy issued prior to adoption as legally nonconforming; such businesses may continue operating until they cease operations, subject to state rules on discontinuance (staff referenced a 180‑day/6‑month statutory parameter).
Commissioners discussed how the amendment is intended to reduce calls about inventory parked in rights of way and mitigate impacts on nearby homeowners, and staff said the rule would indirectly cluster the use where it already exists by limiting permissible zoning districts rather than by drawing a single polygon. After public hearing and commission discussion, a motion to approve the ordinance passed by voice vote.
The text amendment will proceed to the City Commission for final consideration.
