Liberty Hill council approves conditional‑use permit for Gerber Collision on Hwy 29

The Liberty Hill City Council on Dec. 10 approved an ordinance on a conditional‑use permit allowing a Gerber Collision auto repair facility and screened outdoor parking on roughly 2.44 acres at 11990 West South Highway 29. The vote was unanimous, 6–0.

City planning staff told council the facility is proposed in a C3 zoning district and is consistent with the city’s Boulevard redevelopment future‑land‑use designation. Staff said all repair work would take place indoors and that the CUP is needed to ensure adequate screening along State Highway 29. The staff recommendation included three conditions: a decorative masonry wall and landscaping to fully screen parked vehicles from public view, a prohibition on outdoor repair work, and a pedestrian access connection from the building to the roadway.

Melanie Bagley of Pinnacle Development, the applicant, said the design uses masonry walls and native, low‑water landscaping to shield parked cars and noted there is no planned access from County Road 213; she said vehicles staged outside would be operable customer vehicles awaiting pickup rather than long‑term inoperable storage. “This is not a junkyard,” Bagley said, describing operable vehicles that are worked on only inside the building.

Planning staff reported 31 mailed notices and no written opposition or support and said the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval with the staff conditions at its Dec. 2 meeting. Councilmember Diane Williams moved approval; the motion was seconded and passed 6–0.

Staff noted water‑service considerations tied to a related replat will be addressed at the Dec. 22 council meeting. The final ordinance number appears on the agenda as 2025‑O‑046 for the conditional‑use permit.

The council moved on to other business after the vote; no appeal or legal challenge was announced at the meeting.