Commission denies rezoning request for West Chapman Highway property citing plan inconsistency
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Summary
The Planning Commission denied a request to reclassify a West Chapman Highway site to a mixed-use special district and highway commercial after staff and commissioners concluded the change was not supported by adopted plans or changing conditions.
The commission considered an application by Saad Al Quargaholi to change land-use and zoning designations for a property on the west side of Chapman Highway north of East Fort Dickerson. The applicant requested a Mixed Use Special District (MUSD SC4) and CH1 Highway Commercial to permit above-ground commercial fuel tanks for on-site fueling of dealer vehicles.
Neighbor Christy Starborough described the site as an existing service garage and said the owner wanted to sell a small number of cars per month to keep the business viable. City staff and the fire-code representative explained above-ground fuel tanks are limited by fire code to industrial zoning (IMU/IG/IH); placing tanks above ground in a commercial zone would not meet fire-code conditions. Commissioner Gill argued the request amounted to spot zoning to achieve an economic benefit that circumvents safety rules and moved to deny the proposal per staff recommendation. The motion carried by voice vote.