Planning commission approves Lakeside plat after debate over TxDOT driveway and easement

The City of Laredo Planning Commission granted preliminary approval to the Lakeside Commercial Subdivision Phase 1 plat after debating whether a 50-foot access easement required by the city should be placed on the recorded plat or handled separately while developers seek a TxDOT driveway permit.

The issue matters because Lot 2’s primary access is along Loop 20, a TxDOT-controlled corridor. If the city treats the Bayside access as the parcel’s primary access and requires a 50-foot-wide easement with a 30-foot pavement section, that requirement would be shown on the recorded plat and could only be removed by replatting.

Topside Civil Group representative Ricardo Villarreal, addressing the commission, said the developer plans to record a temporary, separate instrument rather than reserve a permanent easement on the plat. “This easement is a 25 foot access temporary easement,” Villarreal said, describing it as a convenience during roadway construction and not intended to be a primary, permanent right-of-way. He added that Lot 2 currently qualifies to apply to TxDOT for a driveway permit but that driveway construction could be delayed until nearby Loop 20 construction is completed.

Planning staff repeatedly noted the city’s standard note and ordinance language requiring a 50-foot right-of-way where a proposed lot’s primary access is via an access easement. A staff member told commissioners, “access to Loop 20 is subject to review and approval by TxDOT,” and cautioned that the city cannot guarantee TxDOT will grant a driveway permit.

Commissioners pressed the applicant on contingencies: whether Lot 2 already had a contract with a buyer, the timeline for northernbound Loop 20 completion and how a recorded easement would encumber future owners. Villarreal said Lot 2 and Lot 1 are currently under contract discussions and that the northernbound lanes on Loop 20 could open within about a year, which would make a TxDOT driveway more likely.

After discussion, a commissioner moved to approve the Lakeside preliminary plat subject to staff comments but excepting planning comment 1 that would require the 50-foot/30-foot access right-of-way to be shown on the plat. The motion passed with one commissioner recorded in opposition. The commission’s action allows the plat to proceed without the permanent access easement appearing on the face of the plat, while developers pursue a driveway permit from TxDOT and document a temporary access easement by separate instrument in closing documents.

The commission and staff emphasized that if TxDOT does not grant driveway access in the future, the developer will need to return to the city to resolve access—potentially by replatting or other corrective action. That allocation of responsibility and the temporary easement approach were the main points that shaped the commission’s exception to the planning department comment.

Less-critical technical items discussed during the Lakeside presentation included proposed shared driveway use for Lot 1 and Lot 2, the developer’s intent to avoid multiple curb cuts along Loop 20, and staff references to prior examples where internal access easements were handled outside the plat (for example, private cross-access agreements for commercial parcels).