Friendswood commission delays decision on Industry Park Phase 2 tree plan

The City of Friendswood Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday postponed consideration of a site-plan amendment for Industry Park, Friendswood Phase 2, after commissioners expressed concern about making the landscaping decision without the full commission present.

The item would have replaced an original landscaping requirement of 34 trees with nine mitigation trees proposed by the property owner. City staff said adjacent commercial property owners provided letters saying they did not want additional trees in the buffer, and that a detention swell in the buffer could be affected if larger trees mature and intrude on drainage.

Aubrey, a city planning staff member, told the commission the original landscaping plan included 17 buffer trees between the industrial development and fronting commercial properties on Farm-to-Market 2351 and an additional 17 perimeter trees across the site. The owner has proposed installing nine mitigation trees “in lieu of the 34 that was originally required,” Aubrey said.

Stephanie Kennedy, an engineer with Coastal Bend Engineering and the applicant’s representative, confirmed the proposed mitigation trees are magnolias and said nine of the trees were mitigation for trees that had been previously removed. “They’re magnolias,” Kennedy said when asked about species.

Commissioners discussed concerns including long-term durability of off-site trees that cannot be counted toward the buffer if they remain on adjacent property, whether future property owners might remove existing trees, and drainage impacts. Commissioner Marsha said the commission had been given greater latitude in recent ordinance changes but asked to hear why the plan had shifted from 34 to nine trees; Aubrey explained the change was driven by adjacent owners’ letters, security-camera sightlines, and the applicant’s preference to place mitigation trees in a different area.

Commissioner Anderson moved to postpone the item to the next regular meeting so the full commission could be present. The motion carried; the transcript records the vote as “All but 1,” but the meeting record did not include a complete roll-call tally in the audio excerpt.

Because this was a postponement, no substantive change to the site plan was adopted. Commissioners invited written comments from neighbors and the applicant prior to the next hearing.

The commission will revisit the Industry Park site-plan amendment at its next regular meeting; staff invited anyone with input to submit comments for inclusion in the packet.