Pflugerville council approves East Pecan cigar lounge specific-use permit over neighborhood objections

The Pflugerville City Council approved a first-reading ordinance to allow a cigar lounge to operate at 701 West Pecan Street, limiting the use to the building’s existing 3,200 square feet and to interior activity only.

Staff presented the request during the council’s public hearing for Item 6A, saying the property sits within the downtown district overlay and that the downtown overlay makes a lounge a specific-use permit inside the 200-foot proximity threshold established in 2020. Emily, a city planning staff member, told council the planning commission had unanimously recommended approval and that staff found the proposal “harmonious and compatible” if limited to the existing structure.

Neighbors and community members urged the council to deny the permit. Mary Heath, an Old Town resident, told the council, “It is about the ethics at large here,” and said the property is across the street from Pace High School and next to First Baptist Church. Chris Gary, pastor of administration and children at First Baptist Church,…