Planning commission recommends light-industrial zoning for Port of Corpus Christi site after residents oppose heavy-industrial request

The City Planning Commission on the north side of Corpus Christi recommended changing the zoning of a roughly 7.9-acre site controlled by the Port of Corpus Christi from neighborhood commercial/multifamily to light industrial, rejecting the port's request for heavy-industrial zoning.

Staff and the port said the rezoning is intended to provide outdoor storage and laydown space—such as wind-turbine blades and military cargo—lost to the Harbor Bridge construction. Andrew Dimas, a Development Services planner, told commissioners the primary 7.9-acre tract is immediately south of larger port-owned property and that the request would make the parcel contiguous with other industrially zoned lands to the north. Dimas said 41 notices were mailed to properties within the statutorily required 200-foot boundary and that no responses were received from that immediate zone; six additional notices came from addresses outside the 200-foot area.

The matter drew lengthy public comment from more than two dozen speakers, most of whom urged commissioners to reject the heavy-industrial designation. Residents and community leaders from Hillcrest and adjacent neighborhoods cited health concerns (including reported cancer and asthma), long-term promises of parks and green space, past buyouts tied to the Harbor Bridge project, and the risk that heavy-industrial zoning would accelerate displacement. Deanna King, vice president of the local NAACP chapter, said the community still contains residents and “these are people that want to stay in their homes.” Lamar Taylor, a long-time Hillcrest resident and Brooks AME congregant, said the neighborhood is being “eaten up bit by bit” by industrial encroachment.

A business owner identified as Gilbert told the commission he had run a business in the area for 20 years and said he was offered a nominal buyout: “They wanted to offer me $2.50 for a land of worth over 500,000,” he said. James Klein, president of the Coastal Bend Sierra Club Group, told the commission the group opposed the rezoning because nearby residents could be exposed to air emissions, naming benzene and fine particulates among their concerns.

Sam Esquivel, the Port of Corpus Christi’s director of real estate, spoke for the applicant and said the port’s current intent is open outdoor storage and laydown yards to replace acreage lost to Harbor Bridge construction, not the construction of processing or refining facilities. “What we're trying to do with this project is just make up for what we lost to improve overall cargo efficiency in and out of the port,” Esquivel said. He noted the port has acquired larger adjacent parcels—one formerly used as a tank farm—and said those properties were cleaned to industrial standard before acquisition.

Commissioners and staff discussed the difference between light- and heavy-industrial districts. Staff and the Fire Department representatives noted regulatory limits (including the International Fire Code) on storage of hazardous liquids and other materials; staff said pure storage can be allowed in light-industrial zoning while manufacturing or refining of raw materials would require heavy-industrial zoning.

After discussion, Commissioner Brian Mandel moved to deny the port’s requested heavy-industrial zoning and instead recommend approval of light-industrial zoning. The motion passed on a roll-call recommendation to City Council. The formal recommendation will go before City Council on June 17; street-closure and right-of-way abandonment items related to the port’s broader proposal will be heard separately by council the same day.

Why it matters: Hillcrest residents and neighborhood groups argued the change would compound decades of industrial encroachment and health burdens in a historically Black neighborhood. The commission’s recommendation does not finalize zoning; City Council will make the final decision.

Action and next steps: The commission’s recommendation (deny heavy industrial; recommend light industrial) will be transmitted to City Council, which is scheduled to hear the rezoning and related street-closure items on June 17. If council approves light-industrial zoning, the port would still need to pursue any required permits for specific uses or facilities.