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Commission recommends PD‑LI rezoning for 1661 South Main to allow minor auto repair; 4–3 vote
Summary
The commission recommended changing zoning for 1661 South Main Street from commercial to planned‑development light industrial (PD‑LI) limited to automobile repair minor, approving a site plan that increases landscaped open space and meets parking requirements. The recommendation passed 4–3 and will go to City Council Nov. 18.
The Keller Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval Oct. 28 of a rezoning request to change 1661 South Main Street from commercial to planned‑development light industrial (PD‑LI) limited to automobile repair minor. The motion passed 4–3 and will be forwarded to City Council on Nov. 18.
Planning staff said the property is about 1.22 acres with an existing 7,300‑square‑foot building. The applicant seeks PD‑LI so the site can house a minor automobile repair facility; the PD text would permit uses consistent with the retail/commercial base while adding automobile repair minor and expressly removing other light‑industrial uses not permitted in the commercial district. Staff noted the site’s future‑land‑use designation is retail commercial with a TechFlex overlay and that the building had prior automotive‑related history (Goodyear vacated the site in Sept. 2022; grandfathering expired after six months).
The applicant team (Mission Ridge Consultants) said the proposal reuses an existing building, increases landscape/open‑space by converting surplus parking to pervious landscaping, meets the PD open‑space and parking calculations (proposed 19 regular and 2 accessible spaces vs. required 15 regular and 1 accessible), and would reduce visual blight at a property that has been vacant and poorly maintained for years.
During public comment, former owner David Gerda said he opposed the rezoning because he wanted a buyer who would invest in his previous site and argued the proposed operator would compete with existing local automotive businesses rather than bring new tax base into Keller.
Commission discussion split on two concerns: compatibility with the city’s future land‑use vision for retail commercial (and the TechFlex overlay) versus the economic reality of reusing a vacant building without expensive infrastructure upgrades. Commissioners who supported the rezoning cited corridor compatibility and the reality that redevelopment to the city’s long‑range vision would be costly and unlikely in the short term; commissioners opposed cited the future‑land‑use guidance and said the PD may make long‑term retail conversion harder.
The commission recommended approval with the PD restrictions described in the applicant packet; the case will appear on the City Council agenda Nov. 18 for final action.
