Lufkin City Council approves multiple rezones and a vape-shop ordinance

At a regular meeting of the Lufkin City Council, members approved several land-use changes and an ordinance regulating electronic cigarette and vape retail stores.

Council approved on second reading a zoning change to bring an existing multifamily property at 615 N. Vergay Street into compliance with apartment zoning. Planning staff told council the property is surrounded by a mix of residential, commercial and light manufacturing uses and that the requested change would align the parcel with nearby uses and the future land-use map. Council voted to approve the ordinance on second reading.

The council also approved a special-use permit to allow expansion of the Naranjo Museum on property at 5104 and 5204 S. First Street. Kevin, a city staff planner, told council the museum sits in a planned unit development that requires a special-use permit for the proposed expansion and that staff recommended approval following the Planning and Zoning Commission’s unanimous recommendation.

Council approved on second reading an amendment to the city zoning ordinance (Ordinance No. 3368) to add rules for electronic cigarette and vape retail stores. Kevin told council staff recommended the ordinance after a noted increase in retail businesses selling vape products and said the proposal was intended to protect public health and to distance new vape shops from sensitive sites. Under the proposal described to council, new vape shops would be limited to the city’s light-manufacturing and heavy-manufacturing zoning districts and would require a special-use permit. Kevin also described minimum-distance requirements to schools, churches, daycare centers and hospitals and said the ordinance seeks to minimize adverse impacts. He said existing vape-related stores would be classified as legal nonconforming uses and that if such a business ceased operation for six months its legal-nonconforming status would be forfeited. Planning and Zoning recommended approval and council approved the ordinance on second reading.

The council approved a zoning change on first reading for a property at 308 Veil Drive to change the future land-use classification to corridor commercial. During that public hearing, a resident raised questions about traffic impacts because the property sits on a cul-de-sac; Scott Raven, identified as a city planner, said the property was being placed on the market and that no specific business was committed for the site. Rodney Moore, the property owner, told council much of the surrounding land is already zoned commercial and said the parcel’s commercial zoning would be consistent with surrounding uses. Council voted to approve the first reading.

Finally, council approved a zoning change for a portion of property at 2911 Old Union Road to allow a new 60-unit multifamily development. Kevin explained the request would rezone roughly 5.2 acres of a larger 27-acre tract from residential-large to apartment and would change the future land-use map to high-density residential for that portion; staff noted surrounding uses include apartments and an elementary school. Kevin said staff received four letters of opposition and one letter of support from residents within the 200-foot notification area and that Planning and Zoning had unanimously recommended approval. Applicant Bruce Love, represented by Michael Parker, told council the developer would install an eight-foot vinyl fence, provide a buffer of roughly 176 feet between construction and the nearest house, limit the site to 60 units, and locate construction well back from Old Union Road. Love said the owner is willing to consider rezoning an adjacent 22-acre parcel back to residential in the future but said that cannot be completed at this meeting. Council voted to approve the first reading of the zoning change.

Council members repeatedly noted traffic and neighborhood impacts during the public hearings and asked staff and applicants for additional details; multiple speakers referenced buffers, fencing and distance from nearby houses as conditions intended to reduce impact. Planning and Zoning recommended approval for the items listed above; council motions carried on each item.

Less critical details and next steps: the vape ordinance and the rezoning for 615 N. Vergay were approved on second reading; the rezones at 308 Veil Drive and 2911 Old Union Road were approved on first reading and may return to council for final reading as required by the city process.