Planning commission rejects rezoning for 51-acre tract at Frankfort and Woodrow after residents raise safety, drainage and notice concerns

The Lubbock Planning and Zoning Commission on Nov. 6 declined to recommend rezoning roughly 51.3 acres west of Frankfort Avenue and north of Woodrow Road from low-density single-family (SF-2) to Heavy Commercial (HC), after more than a dozen residents urged the commission to deny the request.

Jamie McGar, a planning department staffer, told the commission the applicant (Hugo Reed & Associates for Storelight Development LLC) requested HC for a 51.3-acre tract; staff noted 26 mailed notices and reported 10 opposition letters from within the notification area and 126 opposition letters received from addresses outside the notification boundary, representing 78 unique properties. Staff said the property was voluntarily annexed in August 2021 and that Woodrow Road is designated a principal arterial in the city's 2018 Master Thoroughfare Plan.

The request sparked sustained public comment. Mackenzie Welch, who identified her address as 5819 Woodrow Road, said, “We are in strong opposition to the zoning change to heavy commercial,” and raised concerns that her children's bedrooms face the subject property and that similar commercial lots nearby use bright lot lights that shine into homes. Dodie Phillips, who said she had lived at 5811 Woodrow Road for 20 years, cited past traffic fatalities and repeated crashes at the Frankfort/Woodrow intersection and told the commission residents did not receive adequate notice of the rezoning.

Developer Thomas Paine told the commission that only about 32 of the 51.3 acres are net developable because of an Atmos gas-line easement running through the tract, and he said he plans to record deed restrictions to prohibit some heavy uses. Paine said, “It's all about the money. Guilty as charged,” and added he would not sell the property without deed restrictions in place. Planning staff and the applicant also said any development would have to meet the city's Unified Development Code (UDC) requirements for lighting, buffering and driveway spacing and that the property must be platted and go through engineering review before building permits could be issued.

Speakers opposing the rezoning stressed three recurring points: Woodrow Road's limited shoulder and safety issues (multiple speakers described recent fatal crashes and near-misses), the risk that additional paved surfaces would increase runoff to nearby playa lakes and the belief that deed restrictions promised by the owner cannot be enforced by the city and could be changed or ignored in the future. Attorney Charles Chambers argued the rezoning request was premature without a preliminary plat and drainage plan in place and urged commissioners to preserve the neighborhood's character; he also disputed the procedural history of the annexation.

Commission discussion centered on scope and placement of commercial frontage. Several commissioners said that a small commercial node at the intersection corner might be appropriate but objected to the requested continuous HC frontage along roughly a mile of Woodrow Road. One commissioner pointed to provisions of the city's future land-use guidance that recommend commercial uses be located at major intersections rather than in long strips adjacent to residential areas.

When the commission voted, the motion to recommend the rezoning failed, 1-5. Chair James Bell announced the file will still proceed to City Council for a first reading on Dec. 2, 2025 at 2:00 p.m., per the standard calendar. The applicant indicated it intends to pursue platting and engineering studies should zoning approvals move forward at later stages.

Why it matters: The decision highlights continuing tensions between long-time residents and large landowners/developers in areas annexed by the city. Residents urged that road and drainage infrastructure in the area are not adequate for HC uses; the developer and staff noted engineering and UDC processes that would apply to mitigate impacts if development proceeds.

What happens next: The case will appear before Lubbock City Council for the first reading on Dec. 2 at 2:00 p.m. If council advances the request, subsequent platting, drainage studies and building-permit reviews will be required before any development can begin.