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Council approves rezoning at Broad and Holland over planning staff objections
Summary
After debate about whether a sit‑down restaurant should remain the required use at a high‑visibility corner, the Mansfield City Council approved a planned‑development zoning change allowing a Southside Bank branch at Broad and Holland in a 5‑2 vote.
The Mansfield City Council voted 5‑2 to approve a planned‑development zoning change for about 1.5 acres at the southwest corner of Broad Street and North Holland Road that will allow a Southside Bank branch where a 2017 PD had required a sit‑down restaurant.
The rezoning request (zoning case 25‑005) was presented by Aaron and Patrick Fogel, who said they had tried for years to develop the parcel as a restaurant but were unable to secure operators after construction and operating costs rose. “We started doing some preliminary designs and drawings ... and when we got our plans completed and bid out, the cost doubled,” Aaron Fogel said. The Fogels said they marketed the property in late 2024 and early 2025 but received no viable sit‑down restaurant offers.
Steven Campbell, director of communications for Southside Bank, told council the bank’s proposal “makes practical sense and provides everyday convenience to residents and businesses on this side of town,” and said the planned branch meets the city’s setback, landscaping and elevation requirements. He emphasized Southside’s community commitments and said the branch would add tax base and jobs.
Planning staff and the Planning & Zoning Commission had recommended denial. Clayton Comstock, executive director of planning and development, told the council the 2017 PD “was fairly clear” that a sit‑down restaurant was required at the hard corner and that both the prior PD and a 2021 detailed site plan reflected the council’s earlier direction. “That condition was made by city council, many of whom are still on city council now,” Comstock said in explaining staff’s recommendation.
Council members split over whether changed economic conditions and rising construction costs justify overriding the prior PD requirement. Supporters of the rezoning, including members who said the market has shifted and restaurants are harder to build and sustain, argued an empty, unusable corner would be worse for the neighborhood than a bank. Opponents cited the city’s earlier policy choice to reserve the corner for a restaurant and said the 2017 PD’s intent mattered.
The motion to approve carried 5‑2. The council scheduled a second reading as part of the approval process and recorded the final vote as passing on the night of Sept. 22, 2025.
What’s next: The approved PD will return for required follow‑up site‑plan steps and a second reading per the city’s zoning procedures; any conditions attached by council will be enforced through those follow‑up approvals.
