The Edinburg City Council on July 15 approved a comprehensive-plan amendment and rezoning request to reclassify 321 West Loeb Street from residential primary to residential multifamily, a change the developer and some planners said would serve growing housing demand near the university and downtown.
The rezoning drew objections from a neighboring property owner who said the small lot and nearby event parking at a school will put her tenants at risk of repeated confrontations over parking spaces. The city staff had recommended denial, citing the lot’s size relative to multifamily lot requirements, but council members voted to approve the request.
The property’s engineering representative, Marlon Garza of Melden & Hunt, said the developer plans to build a triplex of two-bedroom units and that the design will meet the city’s Unified Development Code parking standards. “We have been successful in being able to design a site plan that has been previously approved by the city,” Garza said, adding the team would follow UDC requirements for off-street parking and drainage if the rezoning moves forward.
Owner and speaker Sal Manera Mendez (property owner, Graduate Apartments) told the council her building, immediately north of the rezoning site, already experiences overflow parking during school events at the adjacent school and that tenants have confronted visitors who park in leased spaces. “Adding another three homes there, where are they gonna park?” she said, asking the council to be proactive to avoid future confrontations.
City staff answered that the future-land-use map shows an auto-urban designation for the area and noted the typical multifamily-lot standard is 8,000 square feet; Garza said the lot in question is about 7,448 square feet and described adjustments developers use so parking and setbacks can be met on smaller lots. Staff and Planning & Zoning differed: staff recommended denial while Planning & Zoning forwarded the item (PNZ earlier recommended against it), and the council ultimately approved the rezoning.
Council discussion acknowledged the rezoning is only the first step. City staff will continue to review the site plan for stormwater, utilities and the specific parking layout if the developer proceeds. Council members asked staff to ensure the developer meets all UDC requirements before any building permits are issued.
The council recorded the motion to approve and carried it by voice vote; no individual roll-call tally was read into the record.