Planning and Zoning Commission forwards revised Padre Boulevard entertainment-district code to City Council

The South Padre Island Planning and Zoning Commission voted to forward revisions to the Padre Boulevard and Entertainment District Code to the City Council with three formal recommendations and a favorable endorsement.

The revision package, presented by Alex Huntress, Public Works Director, and summarized by City Attorney Ed Seganos, reworks the 70-page form-based code to reflect recent state guidance on construction materials and to resolve conflicts with the city’s existing Chapter 20 zoning code. The commission approved forwarding the draft with recommendations to add an additional fee for appeals to City Council, remove section 3.10.8 (listed in the draft as 3.1.0.8 in places), and adjust specified wording as discussed by commissioners.

The revisions make two major structural changes. First, several previously mandatory design requirements in the code’s design guidance were converted from “shall” to “should” or relabeled as “design standards and recommendations,” a change prompted by an opinion of state law summarized in the draft. Alex Huntress told the commission, “We did some edits and the majority of the edits were based on that Senate bill about the construction method and the material on the buildings.” Seganos explained the legal rationale in more detail, citing what the draft calls chapter…