The City of Laredo Planning Commission on Thursday considered a request to amend the zoning map for Lot 1, Block 796, Eastern Division (1401 Guata Musin Street) from R-3 to B-3 to allow unspecified commercial uses. The applicant is listed as Laura M. Valdez Delagarza; the owner is B and M Established Group Inc.

The most immediate point of contention came from nearby property owner Rolando Raymond, who told the commission he and other neighbors had not been adequately informed about the applicants’ plans. “I’ve owned that property for over, well, at least close to 65 years,” Raymond said, adding he is 91 and that the block has been “mainly residential” and he would like to “keep it that way.” He said his family and other nearby owners did not receive clear information about proposed uses or how the change might affect taxes and neighborhood character.

Applicant Laura M. Valdez Delagarza told the commission she is trying to make the property more marketable so she can sell it. She said the site historically has housed commercial operations — air‑conditioning and truck repair businesses among them — and that allowing a commercial zoning classification would permit a buyer to use or lease the warehouse space lawfully. “I would like to sell it but as a B‑1, B‑3 just to change it to the commercial,” Valdez Delagarza said, noting the property’s long use as a warehouse predates the city’s zoning plan.

City planning staff told commissioners the petition did not specify a particular use because the applicant intends to sell; staff cautioned that rezoning from R‑3 to B‑3 would open the site to many intense commercial uses (for example, mechanic shops or car lots) and urged consideration of a less‑intensive B‑1 classification or a conditional use permit (CUP) tied to a specific buyer or activity. Staff reported outreach letters were sent, and the record included at least one late objection filed the day of the meeting.

After public comment and staff discussion of the neighborhood and “grandfathered” uses, a commissioner moved to close the public hearing and follow staff’s recommendation, which the commission approved by recorded aye votes. The motion indicates the commission did not grant the requested rezoning to B‑3 at the hearing and signaled preference for either continuation of review, pursuit of a less‑intensive zone, or a CUP process tied to a buyer.

What happens next: The applicant may choose to pursue a different application (for example, a B‑1 rezoning or a conditional use permit linked to a proposed buyer and use), or resubmit if the council later rejects the petition. The commission’s action at this meeting did not finalize a rezoning to B‑3.