Applicant representatives for a proposed business at 3837 Tenth Street appeared before the Brookshire council on April 17 to complain that drainage requirements and inconsistent staff guidance have prevented permitting and construction.

Jonathan Gammuz said he was representing his father, Marco Gammuz, and told the council the project had been stalled for three years owing to “the absence of a drainable ditch” and conflicting directions about where to get permitting and drainage solutions. He also said the family invested nearly $18,000 with the Brookshire municipal water/district for drainage-related infrastructure and had received inconsistent email responses when seeking guidance.

Engineers and staff explained that portions of the adjacent drainage channel are controlled by TxDOT and that runoff from a development on the one-acre site could require detention that would use most of the lot, or an underground detention solution if feasible. City engineering staff said an underground detention option exists in other projects and agreed to connect the applicant with the city engineer and the drainage district for a technical review. Staff also told the applicant that larger billboards are not permitted under current ordinances, though older, grandfathered billboards remain in place.

Ending: Council directed staff to arrange an engineering consultation with the applicant and relevant drainage authorities (including the Katy/Brookshire drainage entity and TxDOT contacts) to identify feasible detention solutions and next permitting steps; no permit or variance was issued at the April 17 meeting.