Planning commission tables Highway 90 business‑park rezoning pending revised site plan to address buffering and access

The Missouri City Planning & Zoning Commission on Feb. 11 voted to table consideration of a rezoning application from Provident Realty that would convert about 24.31 acres along Highway 90 from a mix of LC3, LC2 and R1 districts to a planned‑development (PD) district for flex office and light industrial uses.

Commissioners said they wanted a clearer site plan and stronger design standards to protect adjacent neighborhoods before forwarding any recommendation to city council. The tabling motion directs staff and the applicant to return in March with a revised site plan addressing building setbacks, buffering, drainage verification and access constraints; the motion carried.

Planning staff had recommended a negative recommendation to city council because the proposal, as submitted, does not align with the 2017 comprehensive plan vision for that corridor. "This application does not adhere to [the comprehensive plan]," a planning staff presenter said, and flagged concerns about setbacks and buffering where buildings butt up against residential backyards.

The applicant, Kristen Bridal, and landowner Thomas Abraham described the proposal as a business park made up of two speculative buildings — roughly 140,000 and 195,000 square feet — with new drainage infrastructure and increased landscaping. Bridal told commissioners the fully developed project could generate an assessed value in the $40–50 million range and about $1 million a year in tax revenue the city does not currently receive. "This project will, when it's fully developed, be valued somewhere between $40 to $50 million," Bridal said, and estimated the city would receive almost $1,000,000 annually in tax income.

Landowner Tom Abraham, who said his family has owned the site about 18 years, urged the commission to approve the change so the property would finally be developed. "This is an opportunity," Abraham said, describing the parcel's history and arguing the site is suited to business‑park product rather than retail.

Nearby residents who spoke at the podium opposed the rezoning. Guante Anderson, who said he lives in Craven Village adjacent to the site, said a PD designation could bring air, noise, light and soil‑and‑water impacts during construction and operation and could depress nearby property values. Anderson cited ongoing problems with an adjacent PD‑zoned shopyard and concrete batch operation (identified in the record as Verdecreate) as a local example of nuisances that concern neighbors. "I object to this proposed zoning amendment," Anderson said, listing noise and dust complaints related to the nearby shopyard.

Commissioners focused discussion on three core tradeoffs: whether the site can practicably meet the comp‑plan vision for a gateway corridor, whether the market will yield the city’s desired uses at that location, and what enforceable conditions would be required to protect nearby homeowners. Commissioners repeatedly cited access constraints — staff noted TxDOT will allow a single curb cut at Highway 90 for the site — and said the absence of building height, setback and buffering details in the concept plan prevented a clear recommendation.

Several commissioners said they were sympathetic to both the developer’s tax‑revenue arguments and residents’ concerns; the commission ultimately decided it was premature to forward a final recommendation without a revised plan and stronger mitigation details. The chair said staff should ensure the record documents specific buffering and setback requirements for any future submittal.

Next steps: the item is scheduled to return to the commission’s March agenda with a revised site plan and staff analysis. The commission did not make a final zoning recommendation to city council at the Feb. 11 meeting.

Sources: Planning staff presentation and public testimony at the Feb. 11 Missouri City Planning & Zoning Commission meeting.