The Glen Heights City Council held a public hearing on Jan. 7 and took first‑reading action related to zoning and land‑use updates.

Specific use permit and neighborhood market: The council opened a public hearing on SUP‑01‑25, a request by Muhammad Allen to allow a neighborhood market grocery store on an approximately 1.25‑acre tract commonly known as 1710 Southampton Road. One resident, Dale Clark, who lives at 1732 Southampton adjacent to the site, spoke in favor: “I live at 1732 Southampton … I’d like to offer my support for the project,” he said.

Parvis Porzisian, the city’s director of planning and development services, presented the SUP package and described site plans and sample building elevations. He showed vehicle‑tracking exhibits intended to demonstrate how delivery trucks would maneuver on and off the site and said the property owner noted that while semi‑truck deliveries are possible, typical deliveries would likely use smaller vans or trucks. Porzisian also described options to address existing median openings and driveway locations on Bear Creek and Southampton and said details such as median modifications and final driveway geometry would be worked out during the site‑plan process.

Council members asked about neighborhood notification, landscaping and traffic. One councilmember requested a “robust landscape plan” because a nearby Dollar General had not built landscaping to the originally presented standard; another asked whether neighbors within the statutory notification radius had been notified; staff said they had notified adjacent property owners per requirements.

The council conducted a first reading of Ordinance O‑01‑25 to grant the SUP; no final vote or ordinance adoption occurred at the meeting.

Land use chart definition update: The council also held a public hearing with no comments and took a first reading of Ordinance O‑02‑25 to amend general definitions in the city’s comprehensive zoning ordinance (Article 19) to align the ordinance text with the previously approved land use chart. Staff said the language updates clarify uses such as automotive and restaurant categories and do not change the substance of previously approved land‑use policy.

Next steps: Both items are at the first‑reading stage and will return to council for further action. The market applicant and staff will continue to refine site‑plan details including driveway/museum geometry, truck access paths and the landscape plan, and staff will return with required ordinance readings for final action.