Planning commission approves landscape-plan amendment for Villas at Lake Jackson Apartments

The City of Lake Jackson Planning Commission approved administrative action on a landscape-plan amendment for the Villas at Lake Jackson Apartments at 128 West Plantation Drive after a staff presentation and brief discussion.

City staff told the commission the amendment addresses vegetation losses that occurred after the original 2019 plan was partially implemented. “This is an item for administrative review,” staff said, noting the applicant’s representative was not in attendance and that the plan update was required before additional certificates of occupancy could be issued.

Staff summarized the changes: the original 2019 plan required 55 trees; the new proposal also totals 55 required trees and shows 57 credit/caliper inches from surviving specimens. Staff said 48 new trees are now proposed to replace what was lost, up from nine originally planned; irrigation and percentage-of-landscape figures remain at levels the city requires.

Commission members expressed frustration about enforcement and the length of construction, saying supervision lapses and weather events had contributed to loss of the original green buffer. One commissioner noted the city withheld certificates of occupancy until required landscape work was submitted; another asked for stronger enforcement penalties in future cases.

A motion to approve the administrative review and action on the landscape-plan amendment was moved and seconded. The commission approved the item by voice vote; no roll‑call tally was recorded in the meeting minutes.

The amended plan will be returned to the applicant with any conditions or clarifications discussed at the meeting for final implementation before additional occupancy is permitted.