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Rockwall council approves rezoning to let First Baptist expand, including parking garage
Summary
Council unanimously approved Z2025-075 to rezone an 11.155-acre tract for First Baptist Church to a Planned Development district, enabling a four-story education building and a structured parking garage; staff said the concept provides 990 spaces versus an estimated demand of about 457.
The Rockwall City Council unanimously approved a zoning change on Feb. 2 that city staff and the applicant said will allow First Baptist Church to expand its campus downtown.
City staff presented Z2025-075, a request from HH Architects on behalf of First Baptist to consolidate roughly 11.155 acres into a Planned Development (PD) with an underlying general retail district. Ryan, a city planner, told the council the rezoning would allow by-right uses such as a house of worship, a cemetery, a parking garage and limited small-scale restaurants, while accessory institutional uses would remain subject to specific-use-permit review.
Ryan said staff calculated the full-facility parking demand at approximately 457 spaces and noted the applicant’s concept plan provides 990 spaces at full build-out, including 331 spaces in a structured garage. The applicant plans to demolish an existing commercial strip center at Kenway Drive and South Goliad Street and build a multistory, four-story adult education building and a parking structure that will face South Goliad.
To accommodate the garage on the parcel, the applicant requested a reduced setback from South Goliad Street — 20 feet instead of the downtown-district 50-foot standard. Ryan said staff recommended design mitigation so the garage would appear more like a typical building from South Goliad and include enhanced landscaping and buffering where the site abuts residential properties. The PD ordinance increases the maximum building height to 65 feet (with a carve-out to preserve the existing steeple, which extends to 120 feet) and includes other development standards to manage residential adjacencies.
Staff mailed notices to property owners within 500 feet (222 notices) and notified participating HOAs within 1,500 feet. Ryan reported one written response in opposition and one in support were included in the council’s packet. The case previously went to the Planning & Zoning Commission, which recommended approval 5–0.
With no members of the public signing up to speak during the hearing, Councilmember Lewis moved to approve Z2025-075; Councilwoman Campbell seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
The ordinance adopts the PD and directs staff to administer future site-specific permits under the city’s UDC and the new PD standards.
