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Council approves El Primo encroachment and access license for downtown lot after lengthy debate; vote 5-2
Summary
City Council approved a right-of-way license and hold-harmless agreement allowing El Primo’s restaurant to use part of a city-owned lot and a 10-foot encroachment for landscaping and awnings, and to cross the lot for garage access. The measure passed 5-2 after extended debate over grease-trap placement, loss of parking and fire-lane enforcement.
The Midlothian City Council voted 5-2 to approve a right-of-way license and hold-harmless agreement that permits El Primo’s (El Primos) and associated Lot 11–15 developers to use a 10-foot encroachment over a city-owned lot north of the building at 211 West Main Street and to cross a portion of North Seventh Street right-of-way for garage access.
The agreement allows planting boxes and awnings to extend into the city fee-owned lot (not TxDOT right-of-way) and grants a license for ingress/egress across the lot so tenants may access the rear garages. Council members stressed the license is not an easement and that the license limits the encroachment to a 10-foot area behind the building.
Debate and concerns: Council discussion ran more than an hour and focused on three recurring concerns: loss of public parking for surrounding businesses, enforcement of a 24-foot fire lane across the license area, and placement and servicing of a grease trap that staff and neighbors said sits near a garage entrance. Council members pressed staff and the applicant about which party is responsible for maintenance, how often grease traps are serviced and how servicing temporarily blocks access.
Applicant and neighbors: Steven (adjacent property owner and longtime downtown property owner) and building representatives said the design improves the northern elevation and provides needed garage access for the proposed apartments above ground-floor retail; they argued serviceable grease traps are common and, properly maintained, need not create persistent odor problems.
Council outcome and conditions: The motion to approve (moved and seconded at the meeting) carried 5-2. Staff noted the license applies only to the city-owned lot and does not affect any future TxDOT right-of-way decisions. Council instructed staff to ensure the grease trap is rated for heavy use, to coordinate enforcement of the fire lane, and to require clear maintenance access plans.
What remains: If the license were not approved, staff told council the previously approved site plan would not function as designed because tenants would lack legal access to rear garages; staff said the city could alternatively mark the area as a fire lane but that would remove landscaping and some improvements. The license and the project design now move into implementation steps, including permitting and coordination with TxDOT where relevant.
