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Planning commission backs planned-development rezoning for 13.15-acre site near Knapp and Main
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Summary
The Pearland Planning & Zoning Commission voted 6–0 to recommend a rezoning from General Commercial to Planned Development for 13.147 acres south of Knapp Road and east of Main Street, approving site standards, use restrictions and requiring staff edits before City Council review on April 13, 2026.
The Pearland Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously March 30 to recommend rezoning 13.147 acres south of Knapp Road and east of Main Street from General Commercial to Planned Development, forwarding the proposal to City Council for consideration on April 13, 2026.
City staff member Katie presented the staff report and recommended approval, saying the proposal conforms with Pearland’s future land-use map for manufacturing and warehouse uses, and noting the PD narrows some heavy industrial uses that would otherwise be permitted under an M-1 designation. Katie told the commission the city mailed 15 public-notice letters and posted signage; staff had received no public comments prior to the hearing.
The PD document would permit a list of tailored uses — indoor auto repair and auto sales showroom uses (indoor only), grain and food supply stores, and an office-clinic veterinarian (with no outdoor kennels) among others — while explicitly excluding 59 heavier industrial uses allowed in a straight M-1 district. Staff said the PD increases certain landscaping standards (for example increasing required tree caliper from 2 to 3 inches) and adds shrubs for screening along the first 150 feet of the site adjacent to Knapp and Main streets. Staff recommended several language edits be made to the PD ordinance before City Council action to clarify tree spacing, landscape-buffer/setback language, parking-area screening and to require material finish and color standards rather than allowing only paint changes.
A representative for Junction Commercial Real Estate, describing himself as a League City resident speaking for the developer, reviewed truck circulation and site operations. “We anticipate the vast majority of traffic entering off of Knapp,” he said, and told the commission the project’s preliminary estimates are roughly 19 trucks per day and about the mid-30s in daily employee cars. He also noted preliminary TxDOT approval for one driveway onto Main Street and described on-site detention ponds that would outfall to Hickory Slough.
Commissioners asked detailed questions about facade articulation and the proposed PD deviation (the PD proposes a material/finish variation every 30 feet versus the ordinance’s 25-foot standard) and about truck routing if a driver misses the Knapp entrance. The applicant said the circulation exhibit uses green arrows for the correct route and orange for missed-route re-routing, and that the developer will add a monument sign and “no through trucks” signage to discourage wrong turns. Staff said the city will request auto-turn simulations during permitting to verify truck movements.
After discussion about design and traffic mitigation, the commission voted 6–0 to recommend approval of the Planned Development; staff will return a cleaned-up ordinance with the recommended language edits to City Council for final action.
The council hearing is scheduled for April 13, 2026.
