Work session preview: Newman City staff present rezoning request for duplex at 51 Robinson Street

Newman City planning staff and the applicant previewed a rezoning request for a 0.186-acre parcel at 51 Robinson Street (tax parcel N12004003A) during a special Council work session. The applicant seeks rezoning RZ2024-03 from IHB (heavy industrial) to RU (urban residential/historic infill) to allow construction of a two-unit duplex; a public hearing on the matter is scheduled for the Council meeting on Jan. 28 at 6:30 p.m.

The Planning staff presentation noted the lot is narrow (about 90 feet deep), sits at the Savannah and Robinson Street intersection next to Newell Grocery, and is surrounded by a mix of RU and neighborhood commercial zoning. Planner Dunham told the Council that the site’s size and setback requirements make industrial uses impractical, and that the Planning Commission held a public hearing in December and “voted unanimously to recommend approval with the condition that the duplex be consistent with the renderings and specifications provided” in the application packet.

The applicant, Gail Bickham of Custom Dwelling, described the proposed units as owner-occupied duplexes of roughly 1,250 square feet per side, two bedrooms and two baths, with two-car garages for each unit and an estimated sales price of about $321,000 per unit. Bickham said the builder’s business model is to sell to owner-occupants rather than investors and that the development would be affiliated with a master homeowners association; she said a first-year HOA fee would be assessed at closing to cover landscaping and yard maintenance and that an ongoing annual assessment would follow.

Council members asked whether variances to the Board of Zoning Appeals would be required; planning staff said the Planning Commission’s recommended condition — making the approved zoning consistent with the submitted site plan/renderings — was intended to avoid additional variance requests. Staff also confirmed individual trash pickup will be provided (each unit with its own trash can) and that the units as proposed are single-story slab homes (though a basement option exists).

No formal Council vote occurred at the work session. The Council was told the matter will be the subject of a public hearing at the Jan. 28 Council meeting, when the Council may take formal action.

A public hearing notice and the Planning Commission minutes (which contain the commission’s unanimous recommendation and the recommended condition) were included in the Council packet.