The Pearland Zoning Board of Adjustments unanimously approved a variance July 24 to remove required plantings from the landscape buffer for a new lift station at the former Longwood Treatment Plant, 2727 Dixie Farm Road.

The variance allows the City of Pearland to omit overstory trees, understory trees and required shrubs from the 25-foot landscape buffer along the property line adjacent to a single-family subdivision because the buffer area falls within a 50-foot pipeline easement that contains existing utilities, staff said.

Why it matters: The city plans to decommission the Longwood wastewater treatment plant, install a lift station to pump wastewater to the Berry Rose wastewater treatment facility, and demolish buildings and pavement to five feet below grade and backfill the area as green space. Board members and nearby residents said the project is intended to reduce future flooding and the release of sewage that has affected adjacent properties.

Staff presentation and hardship finding
Staff outlined the request as a variance from the Unified Development Code to eliminate required landscaping “within the buffer area between a nonresidential use and a residential use,” citing section 2252(a)(4) of the code. The staff report said the site was annexed in 1960, the Longwood Treatment Plant was established in the 1970s, and the portion of the property where the buffer would be planted is overlain by an existing pipeline easement.

Fabiola de Carvalho, assistant director of capital projects, told the board the required trees would need to be planted at least eight feet from existing utility lines, and the entire required planting area sits inside the pipeline easement and therefore cannot accommodate the plantings. "So that's where the true hardship is," she said. Staff concluded the application met the city’s criteria for a variance and recommended approval to remove the plantings along the east property line adjacent to the single-family subdivision.

Applicant, infrastructure and fencing
Sheldon Buck of Friese and Nichols described the proposed fencing around the lift station. "The state requires for a lift station to have a fence itself. They allow for a 6 foot tall fence with barbed wire or an 8 foot tall fence," Buck said. The applicant and staff said they plan an 8-foot-tall masonry fence (a concrete masonry wall with a textured/rock look) adjacent to the residential property; the masonry fence will tie into an existing masonry fence at the rear of the neighboring lots.

Board and resident concerns
One nearby resident, Gloria Leahy of 2203 Myrtlewood, spoke during the meeting and described historical flooding at her property: "When it has flooded, we got all that sewage on our property." Leahy said she supports the city’s work if decommissioning the plant reduces future sewage releases onto homes.

Board members asked whether the masonry wall would be visible from Myrtlewood Drive and whether trees could be planted outside the fence where the public could enjoy them. Staff and the applicant said the required vegetative screening must be adjacent to the residential use to meet the code’s buffer intent; some additional trees were shown on plans in areas outside the easement but the planting area within the easement cannot accommodate trees because of underground utilities. Staff also agreed to provide a clearer verbal description or rendering of the masonry wall for the record.

Approvals and process
A board member moved to approve the variance (case VA Z2025-0268). After a second, the board voted unanimously to grant the variance. The board also postponed internal officer elections until the next meeting and approved minutes from May 1, 2025 earlier in the session.

Next steps and conditions
Staff said the plat that incorporates the right-of-way into the Longwood Treatment Plant property has been submitted and is scheduled for a planning and zoning agenda in August; final building permits and related approvals are prerequisites to beginning construction. Staff said the city will demolish ground-level structures and backfill the site after the lift station is operating and the wastewater plant is decommissioned.

Discussion vs. decision
Discussion: Board members and staff discussed the pipeline easement footprint, the requirement that trees be placed eight feet from utilities, where masonry fencing would be placed, visibility from Myrtlewood Drive, and whether trees could be planted where they would be publicly enjoyed.

Direction: Staff agreed to provide a clearer verbal description or rendering of the proposed masonry fence for the record; board members asked that language tying the masonry fence into the existing fence be considered.

Decision: The board voted unanimously to approve the variance removing required plantings from the landscape buffer within the pipeline easement next to the residential subdivision and closed the hearing.

For residents: The city described the long-term plan as raising the lift station top above flood-protection requirements, pumping wastewater to Berry Rose, and ultimately removing surface structures and returning most of the former treatment-plant parcel to green space.