Commission approves preliminary site plan for Navasota ISD bus barn expansion despite local drainage concerns

The Navasota Planning and Zoning Commission approved a preliminary site plan from the Navasota Independent School District (NISD) to expand its bus fleet service and storage at property listed as 613 Spur 515.

Lupe, city planning staff, told commissioners the site lies within the FEMA floodway but that a drainage report and a no‑rise analysis were submitted and reviewed; staff recommended approval because the plans met applicable development and zoning regulations. Ronnie Gonzalez, assistant superintendent for Navasota ISD, said the work will replace gravel with poured concrete, expand parking for future buses, upgrade the bus barn roofing and doors, and use an on‑site retention pond and detention system to maintain pre‑development flows. John Rusk, a civil engineer with GLS, answered technical questions about grading, curb cuts and how runoff will be routed to the pond.

Commissioners asked about on‑site underground fuel tanks. Gonzalez said the tanks have been on site roughly 20 years, are tested yearly for leaks and undergo cathodic testing every three years; the tanks will remain in place under concrete and would be removed or replaced if future work required it. A resident who said they were associated with the local housing authority commented that driveways and yards in the area have flooded in the past and asked whether the project would solve that problem; staff and the applicant replied the project is designed not to increase release rates and will preserve existing drainage patterns.

Commissioner Walla moved to approve the preliminary site plan; Commissioner Demo seconded and the motion passed on a voice vote with no opposition recorded. The approval advances the project to later permitting and county recording steps as applicable.