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Lubbock council approves multiple rezones, declines contested parcel changes after owner opposition
Summary
The council approved a series of zoning changes across Districts 5 and other areas, including office, auto-urban and heavy commercial designations; one group of seven contested parcels requiring a supermajority drew owner opposition and failed for lack of a motion.
The Lubbock City Council on June 23 took action on multiple zoning cases, approving several rezones and declining to advance a group of contested parcels after property-owner opposition.
Planning staff presented zone case 3554, a rezone from low-density single-family (SF2) to office for a roughly 5.1-acre site south of 122nd Street and west of Upton Avenue; the planning commission recommended approval and the council approved the change after an applicant representative, Greg Garrett, described low-intensity professional uses. "We request y'all's thought process of approving it and we're excited to move forward," Garrett told the council.
In zone case 3521-A54, staff had recommended denial for conversion from neighborhood commercial to auto urban commercial because the parcel lacked arterial frontage and would directly front residences on 104th Street. The applicant, Tyler Gentry, said the request was largely driven by a need for increased height (roughly 39–40 feet) for equipment screening. Resident Dr. Kevin Kenny urged the council to keep the property neighborhood-oriented. After discussion of access, floodplain and buffering, the council approved the rezoning.
A large omnibus request (zone case 3544) realigning zoning in District 5 to match existing commercial and industrial uses passed unanimously; staff said it followed a map-analysis process and the planning commission recommended approval with one recusal. For one subset of seven parcels (item 6.5) staff noted written opposition from property owners; attorneys and developers spoke in favor of development concepts for some parcels while owners and representatives warned a downzone could create nonconforming uses and harm leasing prospects. "This could restrict that future use and harm the center," said Jeremy Steen, who represents two parcel owners on Milwaukee Avenue. Because the owner opposition meant a supermajority would be required, the council made no motion on the item and it failed for lack of a motion.
Council also considered zone case 3544 part three (property owned by Tom’s Tree Place at 709 Marsha Sharp Freeway). Although the planning commission had recommended denial for heavy commercial, the subject owner and an adjacent owner agreed to auto urban commercial; the council substituted a motion to approve the parcel as auto urban commercial and passed it unanimously. Finally, zone case 2538-QQ, a rezoning to heavy commercial for a property on 19th Street, was approved after a longtime tenant, Terry Deval, spoke in favor.
Where staff recommended denial, council discussion centered on access, adjacency to residences, buffering and floodplain constraints; where owner opposition existed, the record shows council required a supermajority but took no motion. The meeting adjourned after completing the agenda.
