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Zoning board approves change from 3‑unit multifamily to duplex at Avenue P property
Summary
The Galveston Zoning Board of Adjustment on March 5 approved a change of occupancy to convert a legally nonconforming three‑unit multifamily property to a duplex, imposing conditions that the prior multifamily use be abandoned and that the property not be later returned to a less restrictive use.
GALVESTON, Texas — The Galveston Zoning Board of Adjustment on March 5 approved a request to change the occupancy of a legally nonconforming three‑unit multifamily property to a duplex, a move the board said will make the property a more restrictive use under the city’s Land Development Regulations.
Staff told the board that 33 public notices were sent for Case 25Z‑002, with two returned in favor and one in opposition. The parcel currently contains three dwelling units; the applicant proposes combining two units into one, reducing the unit count from three to two. Neither multifamily nor duplex uses are permitted in the property’s Residential Single‑Family (R‑1) zoning, but section 12.401 of the Land Development Regulations (LDR) allows the board to approve a change of occupancy between nonconforming uses if the proposed use is in the same or a more restrictive classification.
Staff member Lunsford explained that because the property’s multifamily use was legally established before a citywide rezoning in 2015, it is legally nonconforming and allowed to continue operating. Lunsford said the board’s role is to determine, via the staff report, whether the proposed duplex classification is the same or more restrictive than the existing multifamily classification; staff concluded duplex is a more restrictive classification and thus within the board’s discretion to approve under section 12.401.
Applicant Sami Hyun of Dublin Investments LLC told the board, “We are requesting to convert it from a 3 unit to a duplex. . . . We purchased it as an investment property and we are planning to . . . make it a beautiful home.” Hyun said the owner intends to invest in repairs and aesthetic improvements.
Two neighbors spoke at the public hearing. Martha Corey of 3220 Avenue P said the property has been a long‑running neighborhood problem under multiple owners and expressed concern about continued rental occupancy and alley parking. “It should be nothing more than a single residence,” Corey said, adding she feared the change to a duplex could revive conflicts over parking, trash and noise. Alexander O’Brien of 3226 Avenue P said the property has improved recently and said he would prefer to see it return to single‑family use eventually but that converting from multifamily to duplex could be a step toward that outcome. “Anything we could do to get it to, at some point, a single family residence,” O’Brien said.
Following public comment, a commissioner moved to approve the request with three conditions drawn from the LDR: (1) the subject property shall operate as a duplex, which is a more restrictive classification than multifamily; (2) the subject property shall not later be changed to a less restrictive classification of use; and (3) the prior multifamily use shall be abandoned. The board voted to approve the motion; the transcript records the motion passing but does not record individual vote names or tallies.
Staff noted a building permit for the conversion was pending but could not be approved until the nonconforming use was addressed through the zoning action. Under the LDR provision the board applied, the prior use is considered abandoned once a change of occupancy is granted, meaning the property cannot later revert to the former multifamily use.
The file for Case 25Z‑002 will reflect the board’s approval and the three conditions; staff will finalize permit review consistent with that decision.
