New Braunfels council weighs multiple rezoning and short‑term rental requests; one industrial rezoning fails
Loading...
Summary
Council considered several rezoning and short-term rental special use permit requests May 27, approving multiple items and rejecting one industrial rezoning that required a supermajority because of opposition from landowners.
The New Braunfels City Council held public hearings and took action on several zoning and short-term rental requests at its May 27 meeting, approving multiple rezoning and special-use permit items and denying a rezoning application for an industrial district after a supermajority threshold was triggered by an opposing landowner.
Planning Director Christopher Looney told the council that the request to rezone about 3.5 acres at 556 Krieger Canyon from R-2 (single- and two-family) to M-1A (light industrial) would require a three‑quarters approval if 20% or more of the surrounding land area was represented in opposition. Looney said staff mailed notices to owners within 200 feet and received zero responses in favor and one response in opposition; the opposing property represented more than 20% of the surrounding land area, triggering the supermajority requirement. Councilmember Edwards moved to approve with staff recommendations; the motion did not secure the necessary supermajority and the rezoning failed.
The council approved several other land-use items. A request to rezone approximately 7 acres along Loop 337 (2944 and 2956 Loop 337) to C-1B (General Business District) passed unanimously after applicant presentation that the owner intends to relocate a detention pond and extend commercial zoning along the corridor. A 0.1-acre sliver at the northeast corner of Alyssa Way and State Highway 46 West was rezoned from R-1 to C-1B to make the parcel consistent with adjacent commercial zoning; staff noted the remnant could not practically support residential use and recommended approval, which passed unanimously.
The council considered multiple short-term rental (STR) special use permits. A request for 0.25 acres in Mission Oaks (13 & 15 Moss Rock Drive) was postponed to the July 28 meeting at the applicant's request. A second STR request at 463 Barcelona Drive (0.3 acres) was presented with staff recommendation to approve; an initial vote in the meeting transcript was recorded as failing, but council later counted hands and confirmed four ayes and the motion was carried. A separate STR at 380 Kessler Street (a longtime family home) was approved; the owner indicated he will manage the property locally.
Notices and responses varied by item: Looney and Planning staff reported mailed notices per state requirement (200-foot radius) with differing response levels—some items received no opposition, others had single opposing responses; the Krieger Canyon rezoning was the only item that triggered the supermajority requirement because the land area represented by opposition exceeded 20%.
Several applicants and property owners addressed the council during public hearings, and the council made decisions by motion and roll call or voice vote as recorded. The council also clarified that a housing authority funding item referenced by public comment (an item scheduled for a separate Thursday meeting) would provide funds to the New Braunfels Housing Authority but was not a project management agreement; residents were directed to attend the separate meeting for details.
The council's zoning and STR decisions will take effect according to ordinance schedule and any applicable administrative timelines; one rezoning (556 Krieger Canyon) will not proceed after the council denied the request for lack of required supermajority approval.
