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Developer seeks variance to reduce required landscaping for 213 Waller Avenue rebuild
Summary
A developer asked the Brookshire City Council for a variance to reduce the required 15% landscaping to about 9% for a rebuild at 213 Waller Avenue; no formal vote on the variance is recorded in the meeting transcript.
A developer seeking to replace a rundown truck-stop site opposite the Flying J at 213 Waller Avenue asked the Brookshire City Council for a variance from the city's 15% open-space/landscaping requirement, saying the rebuilt site can accommodate about 9% landscaping.
The applicant, who identified herself as Shannon O’Hara, said the project would demolish the existing facility and construct a roughly 7,500-square-foot building with a truck-stop convenience store on the ground floor and motel units above. O’Hara said existing site constraints limit the feasible landscaped area to about 9% and that the architect recommended not adding fences so the site reads as open space. O’Hara said the parcel is about two acres (the applicant stated roughly 90,000 square feet) and that 9% would equate to roughly 9,000 square feet of landscaping.
City staff and council discussed the new city code requirement calling for 15% landscaped open space when remodeling or rebuilding a site. The staff noted the ordinance requires bringing remodeled properties into current code standards. The applicant requested forgiveness of the additional 6% to allow redevelopment consistent with the current built pattern; she also said the current site has no landscaping and that the new proposal would add bushes and small trees where feasible.
The meeting transcript records questions and clarifications from council and staff but does not record a final vote or formal action on the variance during that session. Council members asked for specifics about what landscaping could be achieved and confirmed the request did not involve changes to the roadway. The item remained a discussion-and-possible-action item at the end of the transcript segment provided.
Why it matters: the decision will determine whether a redevelopment can proceed without meeting the full 15% landscaping threshold; the variance could affect site appearance and local code enforcement precedents.
