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Planning commission approves 16.66‑acre vacation travel trailer park near Cotton Flat Road amid neighborhood concern
Summary
The Midland Planning and Zoning Commission approved a specific‑use designation without term for a 16.66‑acre vacation travel‑trailer (RV) park at Cotton Flat Road and Altavista Drive. The project drew public comment over security, pipeline easement and corporate ownership before passing on a split vote.
The Midland Planning and Zoning Commission at its meeting approved a request from Maverick Engineering on behalf of Bull Mountain LLC to allow a vacation travel‑trailer park on a 16.66‑acre tract at the northeast corner of Cotton Flat Road and Altavista Drive. The commission recorded the vote as 4 yes, 1 no and 2 abstentions.
Staff described the site as currently zoned SF‑1 with surrounding zoning and uses including single‑family and commercial, and said the city’s future land‑use plan designates the location as BP (supporting larger‑scale visitor services). Daniel Hummer, senior planner, told commissioners that staff had received six written objections in total (two of those arrived shortly before the meeting) and recommended approval subject to conditions (conditions were not read into the record during the meeting).
The applicant, Andrew Mellon of Maverick Engineering, described the proposal as a “higher‑end” RV park with about 113 spaces, concrete pads, covered structures over individual RV sites, asphalt drive aisles, on‑site amenities (playgrounds, dog parks, walking trails, a front office building with laundry), and security features. Mellon said the project will include a new water main to the site with an estimated value of about $800,000, plans have been submitted to the city, and sewer access is available on site.
A nearby resident, Michelle Morris, spoke in opposition to locating this use at the site. Morris said her family stores expensive equipment on nearby commercial lots, described prior thefts and fencing breaches at surrounding properties, and said the addition of a transient‑oriented RV park would increase risk to stored equipment. Morris also told the commission she believes individuals affiliated with Bull Mountain LLC have multiple corporate entities (she cited about 18) and said several have been forfeited for failure to pay franchise taxes; she said those ownership and stewardship concerns weigh against siting this project at that location. Morris also raised a 50‑foot easement for an underground oil pipeline that crosses the property and asked how the development would work around that easement.
In response, Mellon said the site plan calls for a continuous six‑foot fence around the property (he said the design team will not use razor wire), a controlled single entry, and security cameras. He said the office will be manned during daytime hours (not 24/7), the development team has been in discussions with the pipeline owner and is addressing pipeline encroachment issues during engineering, and that access gates for city utility maintenance will be provided where needed.
Commissioners discussed the application briefly, then moved to a vote. A motion to approve (mover recorded in the meeting as Commissioner Barry; second recorded as Commissioner Sparks) passed by the recorded tally of 4 yes, 1 no and 2 abstentions. The full meeting minutes will contain the formal roll call and any conditions attached to the permit.
The approval allows the applicant to pursue detailed engineering and permitting; staff indicated the approval is subject to conditions that were not specified aloud during the hearing and will be reflected in the official decision and docket.
