The Laredo Planning and Zoning Commission on Dec. 19 recommended that city council rezone two adjacent lots at 1802 and 1804 Milk Street and approved a conditional-use permit allowing an auto body repair, paint and body shop to operate there, while adding a three-year expiration condition and several operational requirements.

The action applies to Lot 7 and Lot 8, Block 2084, Eastern Division — properties owned by Juan Garcia and Willida Garcia — and was recommended to city council by a 3-2 vote on the rezoning request. The commission separately approved the conditional-use permit with the additional three-year condition; the CUP was passed by the commission and will still require all applicable building, floodplain and environmental permits before the business may legally operate.

The commission’s staff report said the property is currently zoned R-3 (mixed residential) and that staff did not support converting the site to a B-1 (limited business) district because the area is “predominantly residential” and the change would not conform with the comprehensive plan. Staff also listed multiple code enforcement citations issued to the property in 2022–2024 for operating automotive uses in a residential zone, using city property for vehicle storage and filling within the 100-year floodplain without approval.

Applicant Juan (Johnny) Garcia told the commission he bought the lots after cleaning long-neglected property and that he believed the site previously had commercial uses; he said he has worked on neighbors’ vehicles and would try to follow conditions if allowed. “I don’t make a lot of noise. We do work till, like, 7 or 8,” Garcia said during the public hearing. Garcia also said he had installed solar panels and lighting and that he would comply with permit requirements.

Commissioners and staff pressed the applicant on several compliance issues: multiple zoning citations, an outstanding environmental citation tied to grading/fill in the floodplain, and prior use of city-owned land for vehicle storage. Staff said the applicant has some citations adjudicated (payment plans or no-contest pleas) but that the environmental citation involving disturbance of a floodplain area did not show a final adjudication in the packet and could involve other agencies such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. One commissioner argued the commission should await the January court date to see whether the floodplain citation is resolved before taking final action; another said the court outcome would not change staff’s policy recommendation.

When the commission took up conditions for the CUP, staff read a lengthy list of conditions they proposed if the CUP were approved, including site-plan restrictions, limited hours of operation (Monday–Saturday, 8 a.m.–6 p.m.), screening of lighting, landscaping and a minimum 7-foot opaque fence for any property line that abuts residential use or zoning. The conditions also require annual fire inspections; proper handling and storage of automotive fluids and hazardous waste; prohibition of repair of large trucks, heavy equipment and recreational vehicles; no storage or display of vehicles on city-owned property; and a warning that approval of a CUP does not guarantee issuance of building permits or floodplain approvals.

Commissioners added a recommendation that the CUP include a three-year expiration, meaning the permit holder would have to return to the permitting process to renew or reapply before continuing long-term operations. Staff explained that an expiration would require the owner to reapply and could expose the business to citations if it continued to operate after expiration without a renewed permit. The commission transmitted the CUP recommendation — including the three-year expiration — to city council along with the rezoning recommendation.

Next steps: the zone-change recommendation and the CUP both go to Laredo City Council for final action. The commission’s approvals do not waive or replace any building, environmental or floodplain permits; staff emphasized the owner must obtain all required permits from building development services and the floodplain administrator before further site work or operations.

Votes at a glance: the commission recommended the rezoning to B-1 by a 3-2 vote; the CUP (with the added three-year expiration and conditions read into the record) was approved by the commission (vote tally not specified in the transcript).