Commission recommends AO rezoning and conditional-use permit for proposed RV park near East Loudoun; owner agrees to limit development away from unstudied flood

The Abilene Planning and Zoning Commission recommended rezoning approximately 33.89 acres along East Loudoun (Parcel ID 75888) from medium-density/general retail to Agricultural Open (AO) and approved a conditional-use permit for an RV park on the site, subject to an amended concept plan and plan of operation.

Planner Clarissa told the commission the zoning change (Z2025-22) and the conditional-use permit (CUP2025-15) were requested by Rainy Creek LLC and represented by Clint Rosenbaum of Rosenbaum Engineering. Clarissa said the rezoning would allow uses in AO zoning that accommodate an RV park through a CUP. Staff recommended approval of both the rezoning and the CUP and reported two written oppositions to the CUP and additional public comments submitted after the packet was posted.

Neighbors raised operational and nuisance concerns. Larry Early, who lives near the site, said material millings and paving tailings from a recent Walmart paving project were stored on the property and produced dust and intermittent nighttime activity; he asked how the material would be used. Larry Hill and other nearby property owners said they had inspected the site with the developer and were concerned about proximity to a creek and flood-prone area. Hill and others asked whether any RV development proposed in the unstudied tributary area would be removable if a future flood study permitted building there.

Clint Rosenbaum said the millings were purchased from the Walmart paving contractor and are intended for on-site internal road construction within the RV park. He explained the property contains an unstudied tributary of Rainy Creek and a large portion of the northern area lies in an unstudied floodplain or floodway; to develop that portion the owner would need to complete a FEMA-level flood study, which he said would be costly and might prevent development in the back portion. Rosenbaum proposed and later agreed to a modification to the concept plan presented at the meeting: the owner will remove proposed RV pads and similar development from the northern/back third of the site that lies in the unstudied flood area, leaving that portion as open space or green space.

Rosenbaum said the initial concept plan showed roughly 107 to 110 RV lots to be developed in phases; he said fencing and buffer areas would be provided to meet Land Development Code requirements. He told commissioners the owner planned to stage buildout and that the problematic northern area would likely remain undeveloped due to the cost of a flood study and the elevation drop into the creek.

Commissioners said rezonings to match surrounding AO zoning generally merit few objections and that the CUP should be conditioned on the amended concept plan and a plan of operation. After public discussion the commission voted by roll call to recommend approval of the rezoning and to approve the CUP subject to the amended concept plan (removing the back portion from buildable RV use) and all LDC requirements. Commissioners voting in favor included Barnett, House, Kiker, Halliburton, Lewis, Sipes and Benham; both motions carried.