Planning Commission approves mixed-use center plan amendment at 439 W. Military Drive over staff objections

The San Antonio Planning Commission on Jan. 14 approved a future-land-use amendment to reclassify 439 West Military Drive from “general urban tier” to “mixed use center,” a change the applicant said is needed to allow short- and long-term vehicle storage and related commercial activity.

Alex Ratana, a planner with Development Services, told commissioners staff recommended denial because the proposed intensity would be out of character with surrounding general urban, civic center and suburban tiers and would abut residential properties. “The proposed mixed use center land use is not consistent with the surrounding properties,” Ratana said during the presentation.

Applicant Hassan Balbisi, who identified his address as 7439 West Military Drive, said he bought the vacant lot in October 2019 and has cleaned and secured the parcel to address trespassing and other problems. He described the proposal as space for small commercial fleets and work trucks, not RVs or 18-wheelers, and said the plan includes gated access, restricted hours and lights on timers. “It will be signs, no loudspeakers, no music,” Balbisi said, adding he expects gate controls and monitoring to keep the site quiet.

Commissioners pressed the applicant on operational limits, buffers to single-family homes, the exact types of vehicles to be allowed and surface materials. Commissioner Siegel asked whether the site would allow oversized vehicles and whether setbacks and noise buffers would be enforced; Balbisi replied several intended limits had been removed from the draft site plan (no RVs, no 18-wheelers) and reiterated his plan for a 15-foot setback and gated access. Staff and a stormwater representative told the commission a finished commercial parking lot must be hard surfaced: “Compacted base alone is not a satisfactory material to surface a parking lot,” a staff member said, noting that asphalt, concrete or approved permeable pavement and a stormwater management report will likely be required at permitting.

Despite staff’s concerns and three commissioners voting no, the commission approved the applicant’s requested amendment. Commissioner DeSuecki moved to approve; Commissioner Ouellette seconded. The roll call read: DeSuecki — Yes; Ouellette — Yes; Sanchez — Yes; Lopez — Yes; Milam — Yes; Bustamante — No; Siegel — No; Chair Peck — No. The motion passed 5–3.

Next steps: the approval accomplishes the Planning Commission’s recommendation on the future-land-use change; additional approvals and technical reviews (including stormwater review and permit-stage site-plan requirements) remain required before site work or occupancy can proceed. The applicants and staff discussed the possibility of alternate zoning routes (for example, C2 with conditional use) to address DMV licensing and to constrain uses, but the commission’s action on the land-use amendment was the formal outcome of this hearing.