Council approves large-area rezoning on East Side after residents cite air, health and quality-of-life concerns

Summary

After hours of testimony from residents and neighborhood groups, City Council approved a large-area plan amendment and rezoning for sections of the East Side to replace broad heavy-industrial allowances with light-industrial and mixed-use designations, and added site-specific conditions for several parcels.

Council voted to approve a large-area plan amendment and multiple zoning changes affecting properties east of downtown, saying the action corrects decades of land-use patterns that neighborhood leaders said have concentrated heavy industry near homes and schools.

The change, described by Councilman Mickey McKee Rodriguez as a correction of a “decades-long zoning mistake,” moves a swath of parcels from heavier industrial designations toward light industrial, community commercial and mixed-use classifications and places specific-use conditions on several parcels. Planning staff and the Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval with amendments. The motion to approve the recommendation, as amended, passed on a council vote.